"The Comedy of Errors" is probably one of Shakespeare's more enjoyable comedies, with plenty of beautiful rhyming barbs and a plot with romance, intrigue, mistaken identity and of course the usual celebratory song and dance finale.
It's all done with aplomb here, despite a rambling prelude and some awkward split-screen effects near the end. When travelling tradesman Antipholus (Micheal Kitchen) and his assistant Dromio (Roger Daltrey) wind up in Ephesus, a bizarre series of escapades sees them confused with a local nobleman and his servant who not look identical to them but even have the same names. Complications arise with, among others, the nobleman's wife Adriana (Suzanne Bertish), her servant Luciana (Joanna Pearce) and the Duke of Ephesus (Charles Gray).
It's weird to see a member of "The Who" doing Shakespeare but Roger Daltrey acquits himself well and makes a fine double act with Micheal Kitchen. Bertish is wonderfully feisty as Adriana, and Cyril Cusack bookends the play as the twin's hapless father Aegeon.
The only serious problem is the staging. This story might have worked better on location, as the sets look too much like a Blue Peter style TV studio. Despite some fancy camera-work, it still detracts from the effect.
If you can ignore this, it's easy enough to enjoy this delightful comedy frolic
It's all done with aplomb here, despite a rambling prelude and some awkward split-screen effects near the end. When travelling tradesman Antipholus (Micheal Kitchen) and his assistant Dromio (Roger Daltrey) wind up in Ephesus, a bizarre series of escapades sees them confused with a local nobleman and his servant who not look identical to them but even have the same names. Complications arise with, among others, the nobleman's wife Adriana (Suzanne Bertish), her servant Luciana (Joanna Pearce) and the Duke of Ephesus (Charles Gray).
It's weird to see a member of "The Who" doing Shakespeare but Roger Daltrey acquits himself well and makes a fine double act with Micheal Kitchen. Bertish is wonderfully feisty as Adriana, and Cyril Cusack bookends the play as the twin's hapless father Aegeon.
The only serious problem is the staging. This story might have worked better on location, as the sets look too much like a Blue Peter style TV studio. Despite some fancy camera-work, it still detracts from the effect.
If you can ignore this, it's easy enough to enjoy this delightful comedy frolic