A Comedy of Errors, by William Shakespeare.

Trinity College Gardens, 17th - 28th July 2001

The plot of A Comedy of Errors more than usually absurd even for a Shakespeare comedy, involving as it does identical twins (both called Antipholus) with identical manservants (both called Dromio) who, perhaps fortunately under the circumstances, have been separated at birth. One Antipholus now lives with his Dromio, his wife Adriana and her sister Luciana in Ephesus, whither the other pair have just arrived from Syracuse.
Comedic confusion ensues, in this excellent production from The City of Oxford Theatre Guild. With such a scenario the actors are really obliged to play things up; but what impresses most is their consistency and charm. All the main characters (the two sets of twins, and the wife and sister) succeed in keeping the pitch appropriately extravagant without becoming caricatures; and all deliver their dialogue, particularly the rhyming couplets, with rhythm and clarity. Rosie Emmanuel as Adriana is particularly commendable, managing to deliver many of her lines in an increasingly hysterical shriek without becoming irritating or losing the sense (or indeed her voice); while Deborah Morris as her sister garnered more than one laugh with just a deft expression or gesture. The Antipholus and Dromio of Syracuse, played by Bill Moulford and Stuart Parker respectively, show a real chemistry in their Blackadderesque relationship and retain a believable bewilderment as they stagger through a strange city where everyone seems to know them. The script gives the other pair somewhat less opportunity to shine, but they too give their performances a character that prevented their been lost in the frenzy.
The play's set and costume design are attractive and effective, and the choreography is fittingly kinetic with some marvellous slap-stick moments, all the more impressively energetic when you realise that it has already been running for a week. A lively and charming production.

Alex Williams, 23 / 7 / 01