The Comedy of Errors

Synopsis

Sets of twins, hilarious storytelling and wonderful humanity in the Bard's comic masterpiece and shortest play. Naturally, there are two cases of mistaken identity to deal with in this tale of 24 hours in the life of two sets of twins.

Our Review:

4 August 2006

Separated twins, shipwreck, parents and children lost and found, confused identities - Shakespeare made tragedy, romance and magic as well as comedy out of these ingredients in plays such as Twelfth Night, The Winter’s Tale and The Tempest.

But The Comedy of Errors is an early piece, perhaps written when the bard was still in his twenties, and has quite a different, farcical flavour, while managing to prefigure the poignancy of later work. That’s the theory anyway. But in the Globe environment, where comedy can easily turn into a runaway train egged on by a complicit crowd, director Christopher Luscombe has decided to jump aboard and enjoy the trip; subtlety is not part of his scheme.

Shakespeare drew on Plautus’ play Menaechmi but further complicated the plot by importing a second set of twins from another play. Antipholus of Syracuse has come to Ephesus in search of the twin from whom he was separated in a shipwreck wh...

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Latest User Review

62.25.109.195) - 12 September 2006:

Well, I daresay purists without a flexible and open mind should probably steer clear of this production. However, if you want a marvellous evening's comedy, superbly played by an exceptionally talented cast, and ably supported by a great band, then see "The Comedy of Errors" at the Globe. Yes, much is being made of the "Carry On" comparisons, and the similarities with "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum" (plus a dash of "Monty Python's Life of Brian) but the point is - it WORKS! It makes the story, and Shakespeare accessible (something "Coriolanus" failed to do earlier this season). I never thought I would hear an audience roar with so much laughter, continuously at any Shakespeare play, but last night's packed-house at the Globe revelled in it clearly wanted more. Cannot recommend it highly enough. (And with a 2 hour running time, it's just the right length to stand in the Yard for a fiver - one of the rare bargains in London!)...

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