Comedy at the Comedy of Errors

I went to see Comedy of Errors at UCONN about two Tuesdays ago. And let me just say that it was MUCH better seeing the play than just reading it. The play seemed to jump off the stage with the slapstick humor that wasn’t written in the original dialogue.
First off the stage (created by a friend of mine’s dad) was amazing. It was a multi-level painted to look like a stonewall. What was even more interesting was that the stage included a trap door and an actual door that rose out of the “ground.” The stage helped to further the topsy-turvy feeling of the play with its lack of level floors. Characters jumped around the stage the whole play and were often avoiding one another, playing up that slapstick comedy even more.
The Dromios were amazing. (I think that amazing is the word of this blog!) The used the whole stage and even ran in and out of the audience. They also looked very much alike, which must have been a casting miracle! They made use of the “door” on the stage when the Antipholus’ were switched and one was locked out of his house for the night.
Another note on the characters, Dromio of Ephsus’ wife was hilarious! She was so completely, over the top huge. She also did a lot of acting that added to the play. One of the specific times I can remember is when she fell over and no one could help her back up because she was so large.
I realize that the play was cut down a bit. However, like many of the modern movies of Shakespeare’s plays, I think that the action of the play made up for it and made it unnoticeable. This is especially important in a play such of Comedy of Errors where the action, the movement is the key part of the play and the entertainment. Basically, I suggest that you go and SEE any and every Shakespeare play possible!