Comedy Of Errors Play Analysis

On September 30, 2017, I saw Comedy of Errors, a play written by William Shakespeare. This production was adapted for young audiences and co-directed by Eric Brinkman and Aubrey Helene. It was performed by Ohio State Theatre students at the Lincoln Theatre in downtown Columbus, Ohio. After reading this play and having attended many productions of William Shakespeare’s plays in the past, I expected old-fashioned and dignified costumes, mature and sophisticated character portrayals, and an elaborate set. What I experienced was unlike anything I had imagined. Through modern costumes, distinct choices of character portrayals, and a versatile cast of female actors, this approach to Comedy of Errors broadened my view on how comedic plays should be

In the sixteenth century, when this play was written, women were not permitted to be actors, because they were seen as inferior to men. Therefore, to portray a female character a man would wear wigs, makeup, and feminine costumes. This convention was abandoned in the seventeenth century and in this play it was reversed, where some female actors played male characters. The most important example was of the actress, Jinnie Lee, who played Dromio of Syracuse. In the play both Dromio twins were referenced as male, making this performance modern and revolutionary. Her stunning performance defied the stereotype that women are not funny or cannot play comedic roles. Jinnie’s portrayal of this character brought to life a new version of Dromio. Another aspect of gender roles that this production challenged was the old-fashioned thought that women cannot handle many jobs at once. Two exceptional actresses had more than one role in this play. One was Libby Karman who played the First Merchant, Angelo, and Bianca. The other actress was Claire Snode who played both Luciana and Amelia. The fact that these women had more than one character to play did not take away the quality of their performance, showing that women can handle any number of roles and responsibilities. This disintegration of meaningless gender roles suggests that this production was progressive and modern in how they view