The Comedy of Errors (review)

Edward Hall's all-male theatre company presented a manic, madcap Comedy of Errors. Set on what he described in his pre-show artist talk as a

Fig 3.

From left to right, Richard Frame as Dromio of Syracuse, Jon Trenchard as Dromio of Ephesus, Dugald Bruce-Lockhart as Antipholus of Syracuse, and Sam Swainsbury as Antipholus of Ephesus in Propeller's 2011 production of Comedy of Errors, directed by Edward Hall. Photo courtesy of Julieta Cervantes.

"holiday island" reminiscent of Majorca, or for Americans of a certain age, college spring break at Daytona Beach, this rendering of Shakespeare's early comedy was crammed with bits and gags that culminated in a naked Dr. Pinch crossing the stage with a lit sparkler stuck in his bum.

Hall's actors invited the audience into this giddy world before the show began. As we entered and found our seats, cast members, in character, donning sombreros and bright, wildly-patterned holiday outfits, wandered amongst us playing accordions, flutes, violins, and maracas. Other characters accosted us with trinkets and tourist scams. The delightful Latin-flavored music, and a stage that evoked back alleys with its graffiti-ridden garage doors and scattered beers cans, beautifully captured the casual, topsy-turvy world of youthful holiday escape.

From Aegeon's opening lines the play was punctuated by sound effects and sight gags: horns, drums, and whistles for the beatings of the Dromios; a bell every time the chain that Antipholus of Ephesus gave to the courtesan was mentioned; Adriana eating a banana as she listened to Luciana express her fears of "the marriage bed." Amid all this mayhem, the storyline, and the stakes inherent in that story, were lost. The poignant, moving, tale of a young family torn apart at sea and reunited after years of searching—a search instigated by Antipholus of Syracuse's fervent quest for his identity—all but vanished. Neither the pathos of Aegeon's opening narrative, nor the pity it elicits in Solinus were expressed. Shakespeare's stern yet just and compassionate Duke of Ephesus was rendered ridiculous, not only by his cheesy red satin suit, but also by Richard Clothier's rendering of the character as a caricature of a used car salesman. Aegeon's long monologue was punctuated by the antic entrances of the Antipholi and the Dromios each time they were mentioned in the narrative. This approach introduced the audience to these characters and helped to clarify and enliven an admittedly challenging opening scene, but it also muted the tragic tones of the story. Therefore, when the family was at last united in the final scene, nothing was at stake for the characters in the play or for the audience. This moving recognition scene became instead another opportunity for easy laughs when the abbess appeared, portrayed as a caricature of an S&M type, sporting pink suede cowgirl boots, a leather mini-skirt, and a whip.

Like the abbess, Adriana was portrayed in unsympathetic caricature as a gangling, vain shrew. Obsessed with her looks, she appeared in green mud masks, curlers, a leopard patterned bathrobe and various unflattering mini-skirts, and was frequently occupied with her makeup during her dialogues with Luciana. The terror and bewilderment of Shakespeare's Adriana, embodied in the exquisite poetry of her lines when her husband doesn't know her in 1.2, were rendered shrill and comical by Robert Hands. The result was that the agonizing threats to self, embodied...