After more than a year without an in-person production, the Seattle Shakespeare Company has returned on-stage with a heartfelt, hilarious, and overwhelmingly joyful rendition of The Comedy of Errors as a part of its outdoor Wooden O series. Through incredible acting, smart design choices, and a whole lot of heart, the small yet dedicated cast and production team have crafted the perfect antidote to many months of COVID-induced isolation, and given us a great reason to come together and laugh after such an exhausting and saddening year.
One of Shakespeare’s earliest and briefest plays, The Comedy of Errors follows two sets of identical twins, separated at birth, through a full day of hilarious misadventures, including bouts of mistaken identity, witchcraft, and an attempted exorcism. Taking place in the ancient Greek city of Ephesus, the play ends with an unexpected family reunion between the twins themselves and their parents.
A small cast of five talented actors was all it took to bring the show to life. Through superb acting and simple, yet effective costuming and prop use, actors MJ Daly, Kelly Karcher, Rico Lastrapes, Kate Witt, and R. Hamilton Wright managed to play 15 characters (and two sets of identical twins) between them. Shakespeare plays are complicated, and difficult to perform clearly for modern audiences, but the additional challenge of acting in multiple roles didn’t seem to phase the cast in the slightest. Although many scenes (especially those with more than five characters) had the potential to get confusing, the cast made do with simple and hilariously brief quick-changes and clear storytelling, a mighty feat for a convoluted show all about mistaken identity.
The enthusiastic cast ensured that, more than 400 years after it was written, the play’s characteristic slapstick and pun-filled humor translated well. Even through the often confusing Old English, every joke landed, and the audience was quickly coaxed into bouts of uproarious laughter and applause that only increased in intensity as the show continued. The actors captivated viewers right away, managing to enrapture audience members of all ages—even young children giggled along at the slapstick humor and were enthralled by the expertly choreographed fight scenes crafted by Ian Bond.
For such a small cast and frugal budget, the technical execution of the play itself was flawless. The smart work of costume designer Jocelyne Fowler helped the audience differentiate between characters and was the star of some of the most hilarious moments in the show, including a memorable pool noodle and lightsaber fight scene, and the appearance of a particularly flamboyant hot pink feather boa. Through collaboration with scenic designer Craig Wollam, Fowler crafted an environment that enabled the actors to do their best work.
As a play, The Comedy of Errors is often criticized for not being particularly substantive. And while the script itself may have more slapstick humor than thematic depth, the Seattle Shakespeare Company created their own meaning out of this performance. Above all else, The Comedy of Errors is a story about disconnection, but it ends with a dysfunctional family reunion and a strong feeling of togetherness, in spite of the years of grief and pain that came before. Perhaps this production was the Seattle Shakespeare Company’s way of giving their audience a chance to experience this feeling of togetherness along with the characters; after a painful and tragic time apart, this production was the perfect way to bring a community together again. By bringing back the beloved local tradition of Wooden O with such a spectacular production, the Seattle Shakespeare Company has succeeded in reinvigorating and reuniting their audience after a year and a half apart.
The Comedy of Errors is now playing through August 8 at parks throughout Puget Sound. Performances are free.
Lily Williamson is a third-year student at the University of Washington, where she is the managing editor of the undergraduate history journal and Director of the Queer Student Commission. She has just finished her third year as a member of TeenTix’s Teen Editorial Staff, where she writes and edits articles for the TeenTix blog. Lily is passionate about arts accessibility and art that highlights intersectionality, and she hopes to use her writing to foster greater youth involvement in the Seattle art world.
This article was written on special assignment for Encore Spotlight through the TeenTix Press Corps, a program that promotes critical thinking, communication and information literacy through criticism and journalism practice for teens. TeenTix is a youth empowerment and arts access nonprofit.