The Comedy of Errors occupies a unique position in Shakespeare’s oeuvre…perhaps. Some believe it to be The Bard’s first play (a position for which it usually dukes it out with The Two Gentlemen of Verona). Based on its structure, it is certainly possible. Borrowed heavily from Roman comedies (and The Menaechmi in particular), The Comedy of Errors tells the story of two sets of twins, separated at birth, who wind up in the same city as adults, resulting in multiple mistaken identities. A new production of the play emphasizes slapstick, farcical humor. It also boasts the novelty of having the two sets of twin characters played by just two actors instead of the usual four (the creators do not mention how this is accomplished, but my money is on mirrors a la the finale of A Chorus Line).

The tendency to lean on sight gags reinforces that, as an early play of Shakespeare’s, it is not as fully developed as some of his later, more sophisticated comedies. Despite its seemingly complex plot structure, the setup for the humor in the play is relatively simple. Antipholus and his manservant Dromio do something, often something contrary, that is later ascribed to the other Antipholus and Dromio (they have the same names, conveniently). The result is a lot of no-I-didn’t-yes-you-did humor that feels repetitive after awhile. This production has trimmed the play down to eighty minutes with good reason. It may be Shakespeare’s first play, but at its core, it is really only a comedy of one error.

Posted Sat, 27 Oct 2007 15:23:30 and filed under The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Comedy of Errors, Comedy. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.