The Comedy of Errors

Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors is a brilliantly crafted gem about two sets of identical twins and the various natures of love, redemption, and reunion. It is a potential tragedy-a family rent asunder by a storm at sea; two sets of identical twins separated at birth; a troubled marriage; a merchant's life at stake; a husband locked out of his own home; sane men accused of insanity, bound, and locked up; an attempted exorcism; identities lost; swords drawn and lives threatened; the menace of sorcery and witchcraft-yet Shakespeare manages to make us laugh through it all. Although on the stage this play is usually presented as a fast-paced and silly farce, on the page one can take the time to see the range and depth of conflicting emotions, appreciate the changes in rhythm that manipulate our response to what's going on, and revel in the remarkable word-play of the Dromio twins.