The Comedy of Errors (Vol. 26) | Clifford Williams (essay date 1969)

Clifford Williams (essay date 1969)

SOURCE: "The Comedy of Errors," in Introductions to Shakespeare, Michael Joseph, Ltd., 1978, pp. 40-4.

[Williams directed the much-acclaimed 1962 Royal Shakespeare Company production of The Comedy of Errors. In the following essay, he provides a short overview of various twentieth-century productions, then goes on to discuss Shakespeare's handling of sources and stagecraft]

To discuss The Comedy of Errors is a pleasant task, for it means paying tribute to an old friend. There is some additional (immodest) pleasure in that I played some part in distinguishing the light of this particular friend hidden behind the bushel. Before 1962 The Comedy of Errors was neglected by both academics and producers alike, despite a production by Komisarjevsky at Stratford in 1938, and another at the Royal Court Theatre in 1952. The latter I saw, but can only recall the Dromios riding about on...

[The entire page is 2077 words long]

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