A Comedy of Errors...

Comedies about long-lost twins causing confusion and mayhem have been around for centuries. Shakespeare has always done it best, even when he borrows a bit from predecessor playwrights like in A Comedy of Errors - one of his first, shortest and possibly weakest plays. The plot has gone from stage to screen – right up to those beach-party movies of the ‘60s, where those antics fit into any plot featuring Frankie and Annette. TRP’s production does just that, bringing Shakespeare to the beach, mixing his slapstick comedy of mistaken identities with bikinis, biceps, and surfer rock music! It's all done in pastels that give a real beach-bleached look, but the performances of the actors are in bold, sharp, and delightfully rich colors. The "Antipholus" actors (Tommy McCarthy and Mike Tober) play the principle twin set that is the center of the confusing action. The two "Dromios" are just a hoot (Aiden Jhane Gallivan and Autmn Sisson - both veterans of the TRP boards) and the two actors look remarkably like real-life twins they are supposed to be. They are the key players keeping the thread running that runs the plot, and the rest of the action for the supporting characters. Audiences loved these performances and rightly so... TRP has always done modernized Shakespeare well and this is no exception.