NO ONE DOES MISTAKEN IDENTITY QUITE LIKE SHAKESPEARE

By Ruth Thompson | @ruth.thompson_ ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Press Invite

No one does mistaken identity quite like Shakespeare and the newest production of ‘The Comedy Of Errors’ at the Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre does it wonderfully!

When I took my seat I found myself in Ephesus and soon learnt the story of not one, but two sets of twins that are separated at a young age due to a ship wreck. First to be introduced is Antipholus (Daniel Adeosun) and his servant Dromio (Martin Quinn) from Syracuse. Upon their arrival they start to think themselves mad as they unknowingly get confused for locals, Antipholus (Caleb Roberts) and his servant Dromio (Sam Swann) of Ephesus. Joining them in the confusion is Antipholus’s wife Adriana (Gabrielle Brooks) and her sister Luciana (Shalisha James-Davis) who play off each other perfectly, adding the over dramatic flair needed for the ridiculous tale. All involved played confused, angry, crazy and a bit cheeky perfectly.

I was treated to an array of physical comedy from well timed slaps to sword fights throughout the production, but like the poor Dromios I had to keep my whits about me. I viewed this without any idea of the plot and with the on point casting for a split second I swore that the sets of Dromios were the same but Martin Quinn is the star servant. After a piece about balding men and descriptions of his larger than life ‘new’ wife (the wife of the other twin servant) he has the audience hoping he’s the one that appears next.

Once I found my feet with the twins, I spent the second act waiting for the delicious moment that they come face to face and it does not disappoint. With the atmosphere in the Globe I almost had to stop myself from shouting out to the characters to help them understand, but whilst the actors interact with the standing audience during the play shouting is best left to the professionals!

Watching The Comedy of Errors in the sunny London weather is something I’d recommend to anyone, the weather can’t be depended on but the cast and production is a knock out. This is one of Shakespeare shorter comedies and has a running time of 1hr 45min which means it doesn’t have an interval. This can make for an achy viewing standing or on the wooden seating but it’s worth it.

The Comedy of Errors is playing at the Globe Theatre until the end of September and will see out their Feel Live Summer.

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Photographer: Marc Brenner