The Comedy of Errors

Saturday, 21 August 2010

A fantastically fast paced farce that completes its journey in one act, Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors involves a far slapstickier comical structure than his other twin confusion play, Twelfth Night, figuring that if one set of twins is funny, two will breed double the trouble and twice the fun! (I jest, as one of his earlier works; this Comedy far predates that Night.)

WAAPA’s third year Acting production is a stripped down show, relying on costume and minimal props to evoke time, place and character, updated to a contemporary but still unnamed era. Jeans are paired with sword sharp foils, Laura McIntosh as frustrated wife Adriana is Michelle Pfeiffer circa Tequila Sunrise, while Claire Lovering as her supportive and feisty sister Luciana is mod shift cute in a mini dress and headband. The twin slaves both named Dromio look like something out of Hi-5.

Egeon (James Monarski) opens the play with an emphatic and marvellous exposition giving the audience a familial tale of woe within the circle of players who then return to populate the town of Ephesus. Twin (unbeknownst to each other) master and servants make for much misunderstanding and merriment, and it’s a testament to director Adam Cook as to how well the actors seemed to enjoy living, breathing and loving the words of Shakespeare, as the continuous rhyming and even more outrageous sitcom rhythms are able to be given a relatably contemporary spin instead of descending into complete and utter silliness.

While the flogging of the slaves a times seemed a bit much (AVO alert!), as usual all is explained in the finale - family is reunited, lovers allowed to declare affection (though I suspect Adriana’s Antipholus of Ephesus is a bit of a cad and Luciana has gotten the better brother out of this deal); and the Dromios find some peace at last, Michelle Lim Davidson and Aileen Huynh both stealing their scenes through wit, sympathy and a wink through the fourth wall.

A fraternal fillip of fun.