Shakespeare doesn't exactly bring comedy to mind. Nor has the great Baird typically written plays that are particularly accessible for a modern audience. The Comedy of Errors, however, manages to accomplish both. Not only was it laugh-out-loud funny, but the couple of hours I was at the Theatre flew by. By the end of plays I am usually nursing a sore rear-end as a result of dodgy theatre seats, though in this case The Royal Shakespeare Company served as a more than suitable distraction.
The play opened in Nottingham last night to a sold-out auditorium. It was pleasant to find that this was inhabited by a wide spectrum of different age-groups. Tickets weren't reserved solely for the over thirties. Of course Nottingham students can revel in the fact that any Shakespearean performance will cost them no more than a fiver! A quarter of the cost of face-value tickets!
Separated at birth, a twin begins looking for his brother. Arriving at his home town, he unknowingly becomes mistaken for his sibling, leading to all manner of awkward and compromising situations and misunderstandings. Hilarity is the inevitable outcome.
The set consists of ragged sails and a lop-sided mast, giving an interesting and fruitful backdrop to the scenes. Like many interpretations of classic plays, the RSC have chosen a style of worn authenticity, whereby nothing appears to be new or in good condition. The result is that the audience finds it easy to suspend their sense of disbelief; the overall mise-en-scene takes on a slightly postmodern flavour. The style of acting is not unlike this either. The characters regularly break the fourth wall, mocking the unfortunate people who shelled-out for front-row seats.
Fans of quirky and stylistic comedies, such as The Mighty Boosh or Green Wing, will find the humour hits the spot. Mannerisms are exaggerated and the comedy is elevated to the point where it becomes borderline slapstick, though without the risk of seeming silly: the characters are speaking in prose after all. Possibly one of the funniest characters - the medicine man - reminded me of Johnny Depp's infamous Captain Jack Sparrow from the Pirates Of The Caribbean trilogy, but in a style reminiscent of Noel Fielding's. It all makes for a highly amusing experience.
Many reasonably famous faces line the cast list. Jason Merrells plays one of the twins, Antipholus, having starred in The Bill, Casualty, and Waterloo Road among many others. The rest of the line-up have similar records, meaning you will recognise many of the actors from their previous work.
The Comedy Of Errors is on at the Theatre Royal until 10 November. If you can get hold of tickets, then do so with haste: a production of such quality doesn't come around very frequently. Students should make extra effort. This is a performance of a classic Shakespeare play I guarantee you will enjoy. Plus if you phone you parents telling them where you've been, you might be able to get a bit more cash out of them!
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