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Shakespeare's 'The Comedy of Errors'
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Combining adventure, human folly, farce,
romance and suspense, the Bard's clever and original plot shows a high
degree of genius and creativity - an ideal choice for an outdoor theatrical
event.
The Comedy of Errors, thought to be Shakespeare's first play, is a
theatrical feast of wit and humour. The master wordsmith makes the most of an
unlikely plot, which includes reunions of lost children with parents, husbands with wives,
of adventures and wanderings, and the ever present threat of death. When sets of
twins come face to face with their mirror images - not once but twice,the scene is set for
a total "Comedy of Errors".
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To find out what the girls saw,
click on the photo
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"They say this town is full of cozenage, as nimble
jugglers that deceive the eye." Antipholus of Syracuse - Act I,
scene II
 | Written in the early 1590's, The Comedy of Errors
is probably Shakespeare's first play, and certainly the shortest; the principal source was
Plautus' the Menaechmi, the Roman playwright being hugely popular in Renaissance Europe.
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| The plot of the Menaechmi had only one set of
twins, separated at seven years of age, and involved a series of comic adventures when one
twin arrived at Epidamnus in search of his brother. Shakespeare doubled the possibilities
of farce and confusion by adding a second set of twins, and moving the action to Ephesus,
considered then to be a haven for swindlers, liars, sorcery and prostitution.
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| The emergence of Italian Commedia dell'arte theatre with its stock
characters, physical comedy and improvisational technique also left its mark on early
Shakespearean comedies, and these still have strong influence on comedy today. Many of the
gags and routines have inspired writers for generations, and even this century they can be
seen in the work of Flanagan and Allen, Laurel and Hardy, Eric and Ernie, as well as
musicals and TV, for example A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Fawlty
Towers. |
| Shakespeare's ability to write as a King, Queen, servant, soldier,
peasant and people from all walks of life, combining strong emotions, great spectacle and
outrageous slapstick, shows us why he has endured for over 400 years. Now, with the
advance of technology and the mass reach of film and the internet, as far as comedy
routines are concerned, the adage "the old ones are the best" certainly rings
true. |
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