Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare
Directed by Anton Krause
Performances: Tuesday 1st to Saturday 5th June 2010, Bell Theatre
The Comedy of Errors is unusual for a Shakespearean comedy in that, being one of his earliest plays, it sticks with just the one plot and one location and all takes place within a single day. With no extraneous characters or romantic sub-plots it pits one set of people against all the confusion and hilarity that fate can throw at them. It is Shakespeare’s shortest play and his most farcical, fast-paced and frenetic comedy.
Antipholus of Syracuse and his servant Dromio arrive in the distant town of Ephesus for the first time, to find themselves being recognised by all and treated as old friends by passing strangers. Meanwhile Aegeon, a Syracusian merchant has been arrested and sentenced to death for entering the city. Syracuse and Ephesus are deadly rivals and each other’s citizens are banned from within their walls. Aegeon manages to gain a stay of execution by recounting the sad story of how his twin sons and their twin servants were separated by ship wreck at an early age…
Can Aegeon raise his thousand mark ransom by the end of the day to avoid execution? Is his plight at all related to that of our confused travellers and the local citizens that they strangely resemble? Why has Adriana’s once faithful husband started to act so coldly towards her and declare love for her sister Luciana? And who is going to pay for the gold chain?
Confused? You won’t be, after June’s production of The Comedy of Errors.
Cast
Antipholus of Syracuse – Andy Davis
Dromio of Syracuse – Charles Doyle
Antipholus of Ephesus – Ed Cartwright
Dromio of Ephesus – Tom Hancock
Adriana – Naomi Liddle
Luciana – Caroline Doyle
Solinus – Matthew Lyne
Aegeon – Michael Wilson
Angelo – Charlotte Vaight
Courtesan – Louisa Evans
Aemilia – Anita Sollis
Luce/servant – Kate Murphy
Balthazar – James Dyer
First merchant – Richard Nield
Second merchant –David Blatcher
Doctor Pinch – John Lyne
Officer – Derek Dempsey
For more details, please contact Paula Kelly, Production Assistant
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