Theatre Dragon
The fire of culture
Globe Theatre
The Comedy of Errors
Michael Elcock as Antipholus of Syracuse and Jordan Metcalfe as Dromio of Syracuse
The Comedy of Errors, directed by Sean Homes, revels in the quips of the Bard bringing laughter and joy to the audience. I was amongst the groundlings when the laughter began, and it simply did not stop; the great dialogue between Syracusian Antipholus (Micheal Elcock) and Drumio (Jordan Metcalfe) about greasy Nel "the kitchen wench" left the audience in hysterics.
The Comedy of Errors is a hard play to perform; it tells us a story of identical twins getting mixed up on the island of Ephesus, and how the mistaken identities brings about chaos. The chaos reaches its height when Dr Pinch, a quack who breaks every rule of the Hippocratic Oath, enters the stage. The actor, Philip Cumbus, gives life to Dr Pinch making him one of the most amusing characters in this superb comedy.
On right Lady Adriana (Laura Hanna) on the left Dr Pinch (Philip Cumbus)
Why is it that the jokes of Shakespeare still make us laugh today, four centuries later? I believe it is because the humour of Shakespeare speaks to human nature. The quack doctor is a satire on the vanity of the self-proclaimed "wise men" that still live amongst us even today. Lady Adriana represents the unjustified absurd anxiousness that corrupts our thought for no apparent reason. The servant/master repore is as old as Aristophanes, and yet Shakespeare and the actors give it originality.
There is something beautiful in the simplicity of Shakespeare; even as he explores these ideas we are brought back to reality by an amusing quip about Drumio's beastly wife or some slap stick comedy between the master and the servant caused by a mistake in identity.
The Fight Director, Maisie Carter, and the Movement Director Tamsin Hurtado Clarke
The Elizabethan world was revived within the walls of the Globe Theatre - the revival was aided by the unique architecture of the theatre and the way the audience watches the play (by standing up like an Elizabethan crowd). Although set in Ephesus we witnessed all the glorious insanity of Shakespeare's London. This effect was achieved not just with the acting, but also by the props, costumes, and design. This is rare in today's theatre world, so it is oddly revolutionary to adopt the traditional set. And conversly, the traditional set spoke to our own contemporary London.
In short, I would strongly recommend going to the Globe, and for a mere £5 you can be transported to the madness that is The Comedy of Errors.
BY PERI NEWMAN
19.04.2023