5:38 The Comedy of Errors

Day 5 of 38:38
The Comedy of Errors

Okay, a confession. I'm not going to read Comedy of Errors very carefully. I skimmed it rather quickly. But only because two weeks ago I closed a production that I was assistant directing and playing Emilia. And the script was uncut, so I think I remember this play well enough.

When we starting the rehearsal process, I remember our director talking about the fact that this play is often pooh-poohed by critics and being light and not having much literary value. Then we all talked about whether we liked the play or not. I was honest and said it wasn't one of my favorites, but not necessarily for the play itself, but because I prefer comedy less as an entire genre. And Comedy of Errors is straight comedy. Which means it can be quite entertaining (and our production certainly was), but I have to be in the mood as an audience member for that kind of entertainment. (Though I will fully admit that I am not in the norm and most audience members prefer comedy and have to be in the mood for a dramatic work.)

Why you can tell this is an early play -- well, to be frank, the verse is quite a mess, and actually very difficult to scan. There are few scenes where you kind of have to throw your hands in the air, and just say the lines as you would speak them and find the scans that way, because there are so many extra syllables that if you tried to figure out how to elide them into ten you would drive yourself crazy. As an actor in the play, I can tell you that the text doesn't roll off of the tongue the way Shakespeare usually does. I had to concentrate more with the lines in this text.

What do I like about this play? It's such a nice ensemble piece. There is no standout lead role, and as an actor, I love getting to work in an ensemble environment. Some many roles have their moments to shine. Let's take a look:

Antipholus of Syracuse has the drop of water speech
Antipholus of Ephesus gets to get really, really angry in the scene with Pinch
Dromio of Syracuse has the scene about Nell and all the countries in her body
Dromio of Ephesus has the beating speech
Adriana has both the Are my discourses dull speech, and the Ay, ay Antipholus speech.
Luciana has the And may it be that you have quite forgot a husbands office speech

Finally, let me just take a moment to talk about casting. Many directors are under the illusion that the Dromios and the Antipholuses have to look alike. Since, you know, they are twins. This shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the way the comedy in the play works. The characters in the play are confused about who is who. But the audience never should be. The audience should always be able to tell which Antipholus is from Syracuse and which is from Ephesus and the same with the Dromios. If the audience can't tell them apart, then they can't follow the plotting of the story and the mistakes and therefore they miss most of what is funny about the play.

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Favorite Female Character:
Adriana. The Ay, ay Antipholus speech is pretty great.
Favorite Male Character:
Dromio of Syracuse

Laugh out loud:
Antipholus Syracuse Where stood Belgia, the Netherlands?
Dromio Syracuse O, sir, I did not look so low.

Oh, misogyny:
Luciana Man, more divine, the masters of all these,
Lords of the wide world and wild watery seas,
Indued with intellectual sense and souls,
Of more preeminence than fish and fowls,
Are masters to their females, and their lords.

Down with the Patriarchy:
Adriana Why should their liberty than ours be more?

Favorite Moment/Line:
 This isn't going to make any sense, but when Egeon is telling his history and talking about when Emilia was pregnant and says:

From whom my absence was not six months old
Before herself (almost at fainting under
The pleasing punishment that women bear)
Had made provision for her following me

There is just something so utterly ridiculous about labor and pregnancy being described as "the pleasing punishment."

I also really like the repeated sounds in Adriana's

Wouldst thou not spit at me, and spurn at me
And hurl the name of husband in my face