#anyway re: audio crackles i was stupid and i thought it was an issue with the video player they had bc i watched this one first lol

[aq2003]

archive dive #2: the comedy of errors (2000)

so this one is. A mess LMAO like god is it so fucking funny and entertaining in some areas but so terrible in some others. i was expecting some outdatedness, bc some of it is kind of inextricable from the source material, but some of it has to do with stuff purely on the adaptation side as well. this was still a very well done production on the technical side: acting, staging, pacing, tone, and costumes/music (with some exceptions). compared to as you like it, i feel like this production is really accessible in that you could show this to someone completely unfamiliar w/ shakespeare and they'd be able to understand everything. however there are some very problematic elements re: the setting and some side characters that really weigh it down looking at it now (which i think is helpful to know for anyone going into this blind!) and i think it's pretty worthwhile to dissect it with a critical eye. also: the audio for the cds gets super crackly esp for the middle of act 2 so if anyone else is visiting stratford maybe try the alternate archive copy

prev / archive dive tag / next

i find it interesting how different the antipholuses feel in terms of personality. the dromios are pretty similar but like. dt's antipholus of syracuse is sort of a funny weird loser that gets weak in the knees for any attractive woman he sees. anthony howell's antipholus of ephesus is like this humorless and kind of scarily violent man. and even though they're twins the former feels younger than the latter to me? also you can see the difference in their personalities in the dynamics w/ their dromios too; the syracusians feel more like brothers/friends while the ephesians feel like master and servant

the comedy of errors really is a whole play shakespeare wrote about your secret evil twin being real and fucking up your life except as the play rolls on it becomes clear to the audience you are the evil twin and your twin is just stupid and horny and cringefail

the biggest problem w this production is its really blatant orientalism that gets basically played for laughs/spectacle. specifically: the portrayals of the first + second merchants and the courtesan all kinda vary from "extremely stereotypical" to "racist caricature" (also i think the actor for the first merchant is white???). the courtesan was already a problematic character but adding that racialized element and how she's portrayed as this magically alluring, very sexualized woman that nearly every man in the play falls for... makes it worse, definitely. and also some bad choices being made re: the music cuz in act 1 the vibe seems to be "smooth jazz" (which i absolutely loved) and then for moments in act 2 when the syracusians are like "oh fuck this is a weird cursed land full of witches trying to tempt us", (and when they're being chased with swords by the second merchant and friends) the music shifts towards a middle-eastern-inspired sound and it's like. ok. free me

luce seems to be split off and made into an original character i think? bc she's a side character that kicks off the play and isn't dressed like a kitchen maid meanwhile dromio of ephesus' fiancé never actually appears. that's one way to try to solve the racism in the text i suppose but it is a shame the production had to cook up its whole separate category of issues outside of this

one thing i will give this production re: optics is how they lean really far into the implication that antipholus of ephesus has been cheating on adriana—this is what i thought when i was originally reading through the play (up until the bit where adriana gets reprimanded by lady abbess for being a hysterical paranoid woman driving her husband into insanity because she's constantly assuming he's being unfaithful). in this production though it's just straight up shown that antipholus of ephesus is cheating on her and her paranoia was completely valid and i think that was a really good choice. adriana even gets to slap him! she still absolutely needs to get a divorce though

dromio of syracuse speaking through an intercom to the ephesians in act 3 scene 1 was super fucking funny, i know in the original they don't see his face either but there's something about the way they did it here that made me lose it

i love the way the syracusians play off of each other, they are probably my favorite thing about the production. dt and ian hughes have a LOT of comedic chemistry together. like the whole "she is spherical" bit is real unfunny in itself but at the start of it where dromio says the line over and over again while david breaks character and says to the audience "got that?" and "calm down there's loads more of this to get through" made me genuinely laugh! (atennantcytoact has an audio clip of it here)

also the moment where antipholus of syracuse leans over on his dromio's shoulder and then dromio makes antipholus bend his knees so he can lean on him back (bc antipholus is so tall by comparison). really really good and i love it. communicates the dynamic between the syracusians v well

the sound effects for the golden chain. Lmfao

the "i buy a thousand pound a year i buy a rope!" line being repeated by dromio of ephesus over and over like it's a really funny joke that nobody understands absolutely killed me bc of how the actual folger annotation for that line was "dromio's indignant exit line has not been satisfactorily explained"

antipholus of syracuse is like "i'm not arguing with an attractive woman coming my way, whatever you say beautiful, please step on me" and antipholus of ephesus is like "i'm going to cheat on my wife and then i'm going to plan to domestically abuse her because i think she's cheating on me back"

a personal highlight of mine is antipholus of syracuse at the start of act 4 scene 3 where he's starting to freak the fuck out over everything that is happening. like it's so fucking funny. you poor thing, splashing water on your face. if you had a working braincell you would connect the dots. also makes great use of david tennant's talent for playing a character that is losing their fucking mind

also (shown in the image at the top of the post) dromio of syracuse's entrance in this scene to the funky jazz music wielding an umbrella and wearing the trenchcoat and sunglasses. it's so fucking good. i could watch it one billion times

i wish the audio didn't cut out when the syracusians came in with the swords because it looked like it was one of the best scenes in the play

the part at the end where the gang figures out what went down over the course of the whole story after discovering there are two antipholuses and two dromios was really well done. it was one of the least entertaining parts of the play when i was just reading it but seeing it play out was actually super fun, seeing all the reactions + the production fully leaning into the ridiculousness of the story/characters, was rly good

also the two sets of twins still getting mixed up by everyone even when they're standing right next to each other was such a good bit and it never got old

the audience "awww"ing at the hugs between the twins at the end... honestly, so true! i also felt a bit fuzzy at that! even for antipholus of ephesus! even if he is pretty terrible i'm glad he found his brother. maybe he can grow and change as a person after this, i have hope for him (adriana still needs to leave him though)