Bard on the Beach Offers Madcap Outrageous Comedy of Errors!

One of Shakespeare's earliest (and shortest) works, The Comedy of Errors as performed by "Bard on the Beach":http://bardonthebeach.org/ is just a lot of fun. The carnival atmosphere of the Bard Village and the buzz of opening night set the tone perfectly for this comedy directed by David MacKay.

MacKay mixes the classic Elizabethan period with touches of modern song and a commedia dell arte style. His concoction is light, frothy and just the thing for a Vancouver stage where you can look through the set to see a kite dancing in the sky.

Much humour in this play comes from a ridiculous case of mistaken identity. Two sets of twins – separated at birth – encounter each other as adults and confusion ensues. Antipholus of Syracuse and his bondsman Dromio of Syracuse arrive in Epheus on a quest for Antipholus' lost brother. Though the brothers do not meet immediately, their twin bondsmen fall into serving not one but two identical masters. Soon the entire town is caught in the mix-up leading to a wild ride for all four twins who are constantly mistaken for each other.

The conceit of playing twins is difficult to accomplish – yet I was astonished by the twin Dromios played by Shawn MacDonald and Ryan Beil. Thanks to fabulous performances and the magic costuming of Mara Gottler, I often had great trouble telling them apart! More disparate were the twin Antipholus brothers played by Kevin MacDonald and Bob Frazer. Yet by the end of the evening, I was equally enchanted by both sets and rooting for the world to right itself again.

Director David MacKay keeps the action flowing at high speed. With energetic performances and a daring sound design, I was swept into the story. If you have friends in town looking for a night out – this is just the play they'll want to see.

_The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare. Directed by David MacKay. A Bard on the Beach production. In the Mainstage tent in Vanier Park. The production continues until September 25 for more information check out Bard's extensive "website":http://bardonthebeach.org/_.