Short Shakespeare - the Comedy of Errors January 23, 2010

By William ShakespeareDirected and adapted by David H. BellCST's Short Shakespeare! productions offer a perfect introduction to the Bardfor audiences of all ages. In this 75-minute abridged production, a wildly entertaining tale unfolds as identical twin brothersand their identical twin servantsare lost in a mixed-up world of mistaken identities. Following each performance, audiences are welcome to join the cast for a post-show discussion.Egeon has sailed the seas for five long years in search of his son. Landing in Ephesus, where Syracusans are forbidden, Egeon is arrested on sight and sentenced for execution that same dayunless he can pay a hefty ransom.Egeon is asked to tell his sad story. Long ago, he and his wife, their infant twin sons and infant twin servants were shipwrecked and separated. Egeon, with one son named Antipholus and his servant named Dromio, were saved and returned home to Syracuse; but his wife and the other two boys were never seen again. Then, 18 years later, Antipholus and Dromio set out from Syracuse in search of their missing brothers. Egeon has not seen them since they left five years ago.As luck would have it, though, that very same morning those same two young men also arrive in Ephesus. And by another strange stroke of fate, Antipholuss twin (also named Antipholus) has been living in Ephesus for years with his servantnamed Dromio... By everyone who encounters one twin or anotherincluding Antipholus of Ephesuss wife Adrianathe brothers are apparently indistinguishable. And so mistaken identity, misadventure and mishap turn the once-ordered life of Ephesus completely topsy-turvy.As the visitors to Ephesus grow ever more certain that this strange land is bewitched, the natives of the once-quiet town draw their own conclusions. All hope of sanity seems quite lostuntil an Abbess possessing knowledge of life beyond the cloistered walls amazes the townspeople and their visitors alike.

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