Period 1, Modern Literature
12/8/12
The Comedy of Errors Review
Independent Shakespeare Company of The Comedy of Errors captured the audience with its modern take on one of Shakespeare’s earliest plays. The twist in production amazed me and made it possible for everyone to understand the play, even children. Without the modern spin, the play could have ended ordinary and mediocre. While the book may seem confusing because it revolves around mistaken identities, this production told the play with clarity. People could have gotten confused with all the different characters running around, but each of them had their own distinct personalities. Having read the play beforehand and going to a different production of the same play, this one was believable. The acting was phenomenal, actors knew their lines and said it with such ease. Shakespeare’s language can be hard to say, but the actors enunciated every word correctly and breezed through the verses. The actors that played the two set of twins for Antipholus and Dromio looked alike, but people could still tell them alike which was beneficial. Perhaps it was because the character of Dromio was more comical, but the actors that played him nailed it. The facial expressions of the actors that played Dr. Pinch, Dromio, Luciana, and Adriana stood out as it set the mood of the scenes. At one point Dromio’s wife Adriana threw plates on the stage, which shattered on the floor that emphasized how furious she was with her husband. The stage production was efficiently used throughout the play. The actors used the set completely, and even exited the stage or onto another scene though windows. They even used the furniture as stairs to exit in and out of the scenes. What was unique about this play was that members of the audience were able to engage and interact with the actors. Everyone was involved in the play, which made it upbeat and lively. The stage was big enough for people to see in the back and the