REVIEW: Bell Shakespeare Reimagines THE COMEDY OF ERRORS To Represent Modern Relationships

Saturday 20th August 2022, 7pm, Playhouse Sydney Opera House

William Shakespeare's THE COMEDY OF ERRORS is given a new spin with Janine Watson's (Director) 70's Disco inspired interpretation of the farcical comedy. The absurd tale of mistaken identity and clever wordplay plays out to reinforce the importance of listening, trusting and most significantly, questioning when things don't make sense.

The work, believed to be one of William Shakespeare's earliest plays, first published in 1623, is understood to be an adaptation of Plautus' play, MENAECHMI. It centers around a family that has been separated during a shipwreck. While the father Egeon (Maitland Schnaars) finds himself about to be executed for entering the Ancient Greek city of Ephesus (now in modern day Turkey) he shares the story of his missing family and his quest to find them again. The twist in the tale comes from the fact Egeon and Emilia (Leilani Loau) had twin sons and had also adopted another set of twins who would grow up to be their sons' servants. While one half of the twins had survived with Egeon in Syracuse, they were unaware that they'd been given the same name as their siblings leading to the absurd events that unfold when they also find themselves in the Ephesus, the same city as their long-lost twins.

The travelers from the rival city of Syracuse are Antipholus of Syracuse (Skyler Ellis) and his bondsman/servant Dromio of Syracuse (Julia Billington), while their local counterparts, are Antipholus of Ephesus (Felix Jozeps) and Dromio of Ephesus (Ella Prince). While Antipholus of Ephesus is a married man, his wife Adriana (Giema Contini) suspects that he's not as faithful as he should be leading to who she believes to be her husband being locked in for dinner while her real husband is forced to seek sustenance elsewhere as he gives up getting access to his home in a huff. While one brother protests his innocence and ignorance of the things he's being accused of, the other attributes the odd behavior of those who appear to recognize him, even to the point where they call him by name, to the witchcraft and satanic possession that is said to characterize Ephesus.

Working with Janine Watson's vision to transport this work from Ancient Greece to the 20th century, Set and Costume designer Hugh O'Connor infuses the work with a contemporary aesthetic to help the accessibility of the work for modern audiences. Bright bold colours work with the cut and style of the 70's for the attire while the sparse set design evokes the image of a Greek party island complete with neon signs and a mirror ball and the addition of an abundance of balloons. This aesthetic provides a perfect setting to allow the Greek Chorus to present a well choreographed backing movement to the work.

A further way Watson shifts the work for a modern audience is through the casting and the reframing of characters. Antipholus of Syracuse is presented as gay, even though his twin brother's style is more camp, taking a shine to Adriana's brother Luciano (Joseph 'Wunujaka' Althouse'), a character originally written as her sister. The Dromio twins are a non-binary pair of eager servants and the characters of the Duke (Alex King) and Angelo (Lauren Richardson) are shifted to be female roles, both delivered with a wonderful gravitas that shifts the intensity of the characters when presented with a feminine energy.

Overall this rendition of THE COMEDY OF ERRORS is delightful, engaging and a easy introduction to Shakespeare for those less familiar with his work, particularly the language. At times the language does get lost in the pace and accent of the performer as the dialogue is presented with natural voices, not trying to take on old English tones, but the physicality of the work serves to support the understanding of the story.

https://www.bellshakespeare.com.au/the-comedy-of-errors