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[[File:Robson Crane Comedy of Errors.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Poster for an 1879 production on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]], featuring [[Stuart Robson (actor)|Stuart Robson]] and [[William H. Crane]].]]
'''''The Comedy of Errors''''' is one of [[William Shakespeare
Set in the [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] city of [[Ephesus]], ''The Comedy of Errors'' tells the story of two sets of identical twins who were [[Babies switched at birth|accidentally separated at birth]]. Antipholus of [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]] and his servant, Dromio of Syracuse, arrive in Ephesus, which turns out to be the home of their twin brothers, Antipholus of Ephesus and his servant, Dromio of Ephesus. When the Syracusans encounter the friends and families of their twins, a series of wild mishaps based on mistaken identities lead to wrongful beatings, a near-[[seduction]], the arrest of Antipholus of Ephesus, and false accusations of [[infidelity]], theft, madness, and [[demonic possession]].
==Characters==
[[File:Comedy of Errors-Dromios.
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* Solinus – [[Duke]] of Ephesus
*
* Emilia – Antipholus' lost mother – wife to
* Antipholus of Ephesus and Antipholus of Syracuse – twin brothers, sons of
* Dromio of Ephesus and Dromio of Syracuse – twin brothers, [[serfdom|bondmen]], each serving his respective Antipholus
* Adriana – wife of Antipholus of Ephesus
* Luciana – Adriana's sister, love interest of Antipholus of Syracuse
* Nell
* Luce – a witty and vivacious servant in the household of Antipholus of Syracuse
* Balthazar – a merchant
* Angelo – a [[goldsmith]]
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===Act I===
Because a law forbids merchants from Syracuse from entering Ephesus, elderly
That same day, Antipholus arrives in Ephesus, searching for his brother. He sends Dromio to deposit some money at The Centaur, an inn. He is confounded when the identical Dromio of Ephesus appears almost immediately, denying any knowledge of the money and asking him home to dinner, where his wife is waiting. Antipholus, thinking his servant is making insubordinate jokes, beats Dromio of Ephesus.
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===Act III===
Antipholus of Ephesus returns home for dinner and is enraged to find that he is rudely refused entry to his own house by Dromio of Syracuse, who is keeping the gate. He is ready to break down the door, but his friends persuade him not to make a scene. He decides, instead, to dine with a courtesan.▼
Inside the house, Antipholus of Syracuse discovers that he is very attracted to his "wife's" sister, Luciana, telling her "train me not, sweet mermaid, with thy note / To drown me in thy sister's flood of tears." She is flattered by his attention but worried about their moral implications. After she exits, Dromio of Syracuse announces that he has discovered that he has a wife: Nell, a hideous kitchen-maid. The Syracusans decide to leave as soon as possible, and Dromio runs off to make travel plans. Antipholus of Syracuse is then confronted by Angelo of Ephesus, a goldsmith, who claims that Antipholus ordered a chain from him. Antipholus is forced to accept the chain, and Angelo says that he will return for payment.
▲Antipholus of Ephesus returns home for dinner and is enraged to find that he is rudely refused entry to his own house by Dromio of Syracuse, who is keeping the gate. He is ready to break down the door, but his friends persuade him not to make a scene. He decides, instead, to dine with a courtesan.
===Act IV===
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===Act V===
Adriana reappears with henchmen, who attempt to bind the Syracusans. They take sanctuary in a nearby priory, where the Abbess resolutely protects them. Suddenly, the Abbess enters with the Syracusan twins, and everyone begins to understand the confused events of the day. Not only are the two sets of twins reunited, but the Abbess reveals that she is
==Text and date==
[[File:First-page-first-folio-comedy-of-errors.jpg|thumb|The first page of the play, printed in the [[First Folio]] of 1623]]
The play is a modernised adaptation of ''[[Menaechmi]]'' by [[Plautus]]. As [[William Warner (poet)|William Warner's]] translation of the classical drama was entered into the [[Stationers' Register|Register]] of the [[Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers|Stationers Company]] on 10 June 1594, published in 1595, and dedicated to [[Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon|Lord Hunsdon]], the patron of the [[Lord Chamberlain's Men]], it has been supposed that Shakespeare might have seen the translation in manuscript before it was printed – though it is equally possible that he knew the play in the original Latin.
The play contains a topical reference to the [[French Wars of Religion|wars of succession in France]], which would fit any date from 1589 to 1595. Charles Whitworth argues that ''The Comedy of Errors'' was written "in the latter part of 1594" on the basis of historical records and textual similarities with other plays Shakespeare wrote around this time.<ref>Charles Walters Whitworth, ed., ''The Comedy of Errors'', Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003; pp. 1–10. {{ISBN?}}</ref> The play was not published until it appeared in the [[First Folio]] in 1623.{{inconsistent|reason=Previous paragraph says it was published in 1595}}
==Analysis and criticism==
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==== Modern adaptations ====
* The [[Flying Karamazov Brothers]] performed a unique adaptation, produced by [[Robert Woodruff (director)|Robert Woodruff]], first at the [[Goodman Theatre|Goodman Theater]] in Chicago in 1983, and then again in 1987 at New York's [[Vivian Beaumont Theater]] in [[Lincoln Center]]. This latter presentation was filmed and aired on [[MTV]] and [[PBS]].
* ''The Comedy of Errors'' adapted and directed by Sean Graney in 2010 updated Shakespeare's text to modern language, with occasional Shakespearean text, for [[Court Theatre (Chicago)|The Court Theatre]]. The play appears to be more of a "translation" into modern-esque language, than a reimagination.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.courttheatre.org/season-tickets/2010-2011-season/the-comedy-of-errors/|title=The Comedy of Errors|website=Court Theatre|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> The play received mixed reviews, mostly criticizing Graney's modern interpolations and abrupt ending.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://shaltzshakespearereviews.com/reviews/comedy_of_errors_2010_court.php|title=Shakespeare Reviews: The Comedy of Errors|website=shaltzshakespearereviews.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref>
* ''15 Villainous Fools,'' written and performed by Olivia Atwood and Maggie Seymour, a two-woman clown duo, produced by The 601 Theatre Company.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theasy.com/Reviews/FringeFestival/2016/15villainousfools.php|title=Theatre Is Easy {{!}} Reviews {{!}} 15 Villainous Fools|website=www.theasy.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dctheatrescene.com/2016/07/11/15-villainous-fools-review/|title=15 Villainous Fools (review)|date=2016-07-11|website=DC Theatre Scene|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> The play was performed several times, premiering in 2015 at [[Bowdoin College]], before touring fringe festivals including Portland, San Diego, Washington, DC, Providence, and New York City. Following this run, the show was picked up by the [[Peoples Improv Theater|People's Improv Theater]] for an extended run.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.livandmags.com/fools|title=15 Villainous Fools|website=Liv & Mags|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> While the play included pop culture references and original raps, it kept true to Shakespeare's text for the characters of the Dromios.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Matt |title=Review: 15 Villainous Fools |url=https://stagebuddy.com/theater/theater-review/review-15-villainous-fools |website=Stage Buddy |access-date=10 March 2019|date=29 August 2017 }}</ref>
* ''A Comedy of Heirors, or The Imposters'' by feminist [[Verse drama and dramatic verse|verse]] playwright, [[Emily C. A. Snyder]], performed a staged reading through
===Opera===
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===Film===
The film ''[[Our Relations]]'' (1936) starring ''[[Stan Laurel]]'' and ''[[Oliver Hardy]]'', was adapted from the ''[[W. W. Jacobs]]'' story "The Money Box", but there are no twins in the Jacobs story. Our Relations owes its central conceit to The Comedy of Errors.{{OR|date=October 2024}} As in the Shakespeare play, the story revolves around the confusion of two pairs of identical twins: one set of Laurel brothers named "Stan" and "Alf", and one set of Hardy brothers named "Oliver" and "Bert". Stan and Oliver think Alf and Bert were killed at sea. As the story opens, Alf and Bert have just arrived via ship at the same seaport where, unbeknownst to them, their married twin brothers Stan and Oliver live.{{CN|date=July 2024}} One nod to the movie's inspiration is a running gag: whenever Stan and Ollie say the same thing at the same time, they immediately perform a childhood ritual that begins: "Shakespeare...Longfellow..."{{OR|date=October 2024}}
The ''[[Three Stooges]]'' film ''[[A Merry Mix Up]]'' (1957) starring ''[[Moe Howard]]'', ''[[Larry Fine]]'' and ''[[Joe Besser]]'' expands the confusion by telling the story of three sets of identical triplets: Bachelors Moe, Larry and Joe; husbands Max, Louie and Jack; and newly-engaged brothers Morris, Luke and Jeff. The triplets can only be distinguished by their choices of neckties, bow ties, or no tie at all.{{CN|date=July 2024}}
The film ''[[Start the Revolution Without Me]]'' (1970) starring [[Gene Wilder]] and [[Donald Sutherland]] involves two pairs of twins, one of each of which is switched at birth; one set is raised in an aristocratic, the other in a peasant family, who meet during the French Revolution.
The film ''[[Big Business (1988 film)|Big Business]]'' (1988) is a modern take on ''
The short film ''The Complete Walk: The Comedy of Errors'' was made in 2016 and starred [[Phil Davis (actor)|Phil Davis]], [[Omid Djalili]] and [[Boothby Graffoe (comedian)|Boothby Graffoe]].
Indian cinema has made nine films based on the play:
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* [[Roger Daltrey]] played both Dromios in [[BBC Television Shakespeare#The Comedy of Errors|the BBC complete works series]] directed by [[James Cellan Jones]] in 1983.
* A two-part TV adaptation was produced in 1978 in the USSR, with a [[Russia]]n–[[Georgia (country)|Georgian]] cast of notable stage actors.
* The ''[[Inside No. 9]]'' episode
* Season 13 Episode 4 of Bob's Burgers: 'Comet-y of Errors' is also a reference to Shakespeare's play.
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==External links==
* {{Wikiquote-inline}}
* {{Wikisource
* {{Commonscatinline}}
* {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/william-shakespeare/the-comedy-of-errors}}
* {{gutenberg|no=1504|name=The Comedy of Errors}}
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