If you find yourself in London within the next couple of months, treat yourself to the doubly delightful confection “The Comedy of Errors” at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. Experiencing this play on Shakespeare’s reconstructed wooden-O stage — with props that evoke the cargo ships that once docked on the adjacent Thames (designed by Paul Wills) — is an Elizabethan feast for the eyes and ears.
Combine that with not one but two sets of separated twins suddenly in the same town on the same day — even dressed alike due to the customs of the land — and hilarity ensues.
According to an older Egeon (a staid Paul Rider) — who’s about to be executed in Ephesus (we’ve already seen one head roll) by the Duke (Rhys Rusbatch) since he’s from rival city Syracuse — he’s searching for his son Antipholus (Caleb Roberts) and his son’s slave Dromio (Sam Swann). Sadly, he says, Antiopholus had a twin brother also named Antipholus, who also had a slave Dromio, twin to the other Dromio, though that pair were lost at sea as children, along with Egeon’s wife.
Though there certainly exist an Antipholus and Dromio in Ephesus for Egeon to find, we soon see another Antipholus (Daniel Adeosun) and Dromio (Martin Quinn) arrive on a boat from Syracuse, and quickly change into the attire of Ephesus, which make them look even more like their respective twins in Ephesus.
This similarity initiates a cascade of amusing identity errors through contrivances involving a gold chain, a wife (Gabrielle Brooks) and sister-in-law (Shalisha James-Davis), a locked door, some rope, a bag of coins, and a comely courtesan (Pheobe Naughton).
Co-directors Sean Holmes and Naeem Hayat set a brisk comic pace and the actors all seem to enjoy their roles, delivering Shakespeare’s oft-rhyming lines loudly and clearly. There is also plenty of dynamic action, thanks to movement director Tamsin Hurtado Clarke, fight choreographer Maisie Carter and a game cast.
Action spills into the audience as well. Boats conveying characters wade through the “groundling” crowd of rush theatregoers who famously pay five pounds for standing tickets in front of the stage. Characters on stage also speak to or gesture toward groundlings while making observations or asides, sometimes even teasing them, such as for being bald—all in ways that illuminate how the play might have been originally delivered.
Costuming by Jacquie Davies further transports the audience to the original Elizabethan era of the play, with full-skirted gowns for the ladies and pantaloons with rather prominent codpieces for the men—one of them, an “exorcist” named Dr. Pinch (Rusbatch), amusingly wearing only yellow leggings and a codpiece.
And period music intriguingly suffuses the production, with five accomplished musicians (Hilary Belsey, directing, with Saleem Raman, Tom Harrison, Emily Baines and Sarah Humphrys) performing on percussion and recorders but also period instruments such as the cornett, shawm and sackbut. Their intricate melodies more suited to the Elizabethan ear also fit the comic confusion and occasional poignancy of the play.
A reprise from 2023, this production features a few of the same actors returning to their roles, bringing back their resonant deliveries. Though all the actors deserve accolades, Adeosun as Antipholus of Syracuse and Quinn as his elvish counterpart Dromio of Syracuse especially stand out for their bright expressiveness, as do Christopher Logan as jeweler Angelo and Naughton as the courtesan for their funny physical expression.
An unexpectedly poignant reunion involving an abbess (a warm Anita Reynolds), some cute brotherly recognition and a marriage proposal add depth and happy relief to the proceedings.
Though the airy contrivance of “The Comedy of Errors” might seem like an insubstantial indulgence given our fraught real globe today, the story has enough heartfelt moments — made palpable by the stellar cast — to remind us of the siblings, parents and friends with whom we shelter from those storms and without whom we, too, might feel lost at sea.
“The Comedy of Errors” continues through Oct. 27 at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, 21 New Globe Walk, London, with performances generally Tuesdays through Sundays. For tickets and information, visit ShakespearesGlobe.com. Run time is 1 hour and 45 minutes with no intermission.
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