Comedy of Errors

Describe the Theater, sets, and costumes:

Drayton Hall is actually located in the same complex as Wardlaw College, which is where the college of education is located.  It was very easy to locate and when you walk into the building, it does not look like there would be a theater just a few steps into the entrance.  There was a lot of cool art to look at while you were waiting in line to get tickets which gave me an artsy feeling and got me excited to watch the play.  There was an usher outside of the door handing out brochures.  When you walk in, you see an auditorium that is a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be.  Drayton Hall is a proscenium theater with stepped seating that can house up to 440 people.  All of the scenes were set in the center of town.  The set was composed of 3 houses, each 2 stories tall.  The houses on stage right and stage left have balconies.  The middle house has a large window instead of a balcony.  There was also a church that was in between the middle house and the house on stage left.  There were 3 tables set up with chairs surrounding them on stage left.  Throughout the play different props were carried in and out.  The costumes were very bright.  All of the characters in the play had bright colored hair, each a different color of the rainbow.  The color of the character’s outfits matched the color of their hair with a bright color to complement it.  The belly dancers wore the same belly dancer type outfit with beads and sparkles but each was a different color.   There was also a maid whose costume was made to make her look overweight, and it looked like under the dress was a tutu that made the dress and character look oversized.  The policemen’s costumes looked like the outfits that nutcrackers would wear.  The 4 main characters dressed the same and 2 of them were both orange dressed in a suit that looks almost like the suit that the “Mask” wore.  The other 2 main characters had yellow hair and dressed in a purple nerd-like outfit.  I thought all of the outfits were very bright and fun, which made the play fun.  

In what period does this play take place? Who is the author? What period did the play write live?

“The Comedy of Errors” was written by William Shakespeare and is one of his earliest plays as well as his shortest.  When Shakespeare originally wrote the play, the time period took place during the wars of succession in France which could be any time from 1589 to 1595.  It is also believed that Shakespeare based his play off the Roman playwright Plautus (254 BC – 184 BC).  The director of “The Comedy of Errors”, Robert Richmond, which I watched in Drayton Hall, used Shakespeare’s play but added on a modern twist as well as added on songs sung by a “Greek chorus” of belly dancers.  The songs have Shakespeare’s lyrics, but used tunes that are based off of modern pop songs.

Discuss the plot:

The play performs the story of two sets of identical twins that were mistakenly separated at birth. They live their whole lives not knowing about the separation until one day they both show up in the same place.  One day Antipholus of Syracuse and his servant, Dromio of Syracuse, decide to venture off to Ephesus.  Once they arrived to Ephesus they come to find that they are mistaken for Antipholus of Ephesus and his servant Dromio of Ephesus who have the same names and exact same features.  This causes a series of mix-ups in identity by the town people, the twin’s family, and friends.  The mistaken identities cause major chaos and commotion in the town as the two sets of brothers do not realize that they are long lost identical twins.  The family and friends then spend the whole day figuring out why all of the madness is occurring.  Egeon, the father of the Antipholus twins, also travels to the city of Ephesus to look for one of his son’s, Antipholus of Ephesus.  As soon as he arrives, he is accused for entering enemy territory and is sentenced to death.  When it is time for Egeon’s execution, he sees his son Antipholus of Esphesus and calls out to him only to find that Antipholus does not recognize him.  At the same time Antipholus of Syracuse and Dormio of Syracuse enter the scene which causes great confusion but then leads to the discovery that they are long lost twins.  Egeon is then pardoned for entering Ephesus and a huge feast is prepared to celebrate the family’s reunion.