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sugata's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
cs4_0reads's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
nlusson's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
jaymem's review against another edition
challenging
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
taliesin_hastings's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
readingisadoingword's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
The Comedy of Errors is Shakespeare's shortest play, but one filled with all the usual confusion of mistaken identity, long lost family/siblings, shrewish wives and mouthy servants, that is often found in Shakespeare's comedies.
I should maybe hold off reviewing this until I've seen a production of it. I didn't love it and it may be the case that something is lost in just reading it and not seeing it performed.
The premise revolves around two sets of twins, long estranged. One set has gone off on a six plus years mission to find their siblings...so when they end up in the same city and keep getting mistaken for one another...I was kind of expecting the penny to drop...but no.
I'd have been more willing to suspend my disbelief if they hadn't known they had twins, however knowing this, and still not figuring out the cause of all the confusion, tested my patience.
Anyway, this was a quick read and engaged me enough for me to want to watch a production and see if I'd enjoy it more live......probably not going to become a lifetime favourite though.
I should maybe hold off reviewing this until I've seen a production of it. I didn't love it and it may be the case that something is lost in just reading it and not seeing it performed.
The premise revolves around two sets of twins, long estranged. One set has gone off on a six plus years mission to find their siblings...so when they end up in the same city and keep getting mistaken for one another...I was kind of expecting the penny to drop...but no.
I'd have been more willing to suspend my disbelief if they hadn't known they had twins, however knowing this, and still not figuring out the cause of all the confusion, tested my patience.
Anyway, this was a quick read and engaged me enough for me to want to watch a production and see if I'd enjoy it more live......probably not going to become a lifetime favourite though.
read247_instyle_inca's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
ponch22's review against another edition
4.0
A local theatre group is putting up [b:The Comedy of Errors|82356|The Comedy of Errors|William Shakespeare|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328543324l/82356._SY75_.jpg|525707] this summer and because I haven't done Shakespeare since college, I figured I'd read this to see what I wanted to audition for.
The play feels pretty simple (I believe it's one of [a:William Shakespeare|947|William Shakespeare|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1586700347p2/947.jpg]'s earlier works), relying more on slapstick humor and mistaken identities than on wordplay or any serious issues.
We open learning about a ban on travel between Ephesus and Syracuse. Egeon (a Syracuse merchant) is sentenced to death for violating the ban, but he explains he is only traveling in search of his wife and son, lost to him 25 years before. He tells of a shipwreck that split up his family, with each parent being wrecked with one of their twin sons, Antipholus, and also one of their servant's twin sons, Dromio. He's given a day to search, come up with a fine, or else he will be killed.
The pair of twins from Syracuse are in Ephesus at the same time (I wonder now if they were travelling behind their father or if it was a coincidence—can't recall if the text specified), but they are not arrested because their identical twins just happen to be living there. The two pairs roam around town, often being mistaken for the Ephesians, and jewelry, dinners, rings, and even bail money exchange hands and people get confused who has and who needs to pay for what.
The thing that amazed me while reading this, was how the two pairs of twins were never on stage together (until the final scene). Up until those final pages, I thought perhaps each pair of roles could be played by one actor doing quick changes (a hat or costume piece, or even just a different walk or tone of voice, to signify which twin they are). I thought it would be a lot of fun (and a huge challenge) to play one of these brothers (if this double casting was standard) but I'm not sure how possible that is with the ending as written.
The play isn't one of Shakespeare's greatest, but it lays some good groundwork for his future works when characters disguise themselves to look like one another (instead of just being mistaken for someone else). The misunderstandings in TCoE could easily be fixed (especially since it would seem logical that both mother and father would raise their children telling them the story of their long-lost family members) but instead the Syracuse pair blame witchcraft and sorcery for all the crazy behavior they come across.
With the right director (one who does physical comedy well), I think this could be a crowd-pleaser, but I can see why it was never in any of my English class curricula—there are much better, deeper works written by one of the greatest playwrights ever.
The play feels pretty simple (I believe it's one of [a:William Shakespeare|947|William Shakespeare|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1586700347p2/947.jpg]'s earlier works), relying more on slapstick humor and mistaken identities than on wordplay or any serious issues.
We open learning about a ban on travel between Ephesus and Syracuse. Egeon (a Syracuse merchant) is sentenced to death for violating the ban, but he explains he is only traveling in search of his wife and son, lost to him 25 years before. He tells of a shipwreck that split up his family, with each parent being wrecked with one of their twin sons, Antipholus, and also one of their servant's twin sons, Dromio. He's given a day to search, come up with a fine, or else he will be killed.
The pair of twins from Syracuse are in Ephesus at the same time (I wonder now if they were travelling behind their father or if it was a coincidence—can't recall if the text specified), but they are not arrested because their identical twins just happen to be living there. The two pairs roam around town, often being mistaken for the Ephesians, and jewelry, dinners, rings, and even bail money exchange hands and people get confused who has and who needs to pay for what.
The thing that amazed me while reading this, was how the two pairs of twins were never on stage together (until the final scene). Up until those final pages, I thought perhaps each pair of roles could be played by one actor doing quick changes (a hat or costume piece, or even just a different walk or tone of voice, to signify which twin they are). I thought it would be a lot of fun (and a huge challenge) to play one of these brothers (if this double casting was standard) but I'm not sure how possible that is with the ending as written.
The play isn't one of Shakespeare's greatest, but it lays some good groundwork for his future works when characters disguise themselves to look like one another (instead of just being mistaken for someone else). The misunderstandings in TCoE could easily be fixed (especially since it would seem logical that both mother and father would raise their children telling them the story of their long-lost family members) but instead the Syracuse pair blame witchcraft and sorcery for all the crazy behavior they come across.
With the right director (one who does physical comedy well), I think this could be a crowd-pleaser, but I can see why it was never in any of my English class curricula—there are much better, deeper works written by one of the greatest playwrights ever.
reads_eats_explores's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0