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{{short description|Play by William Shakespeare}}
{{about|Shakespeare's play|other uses|Comedy of errors (disambiguation)}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox play
| name       = The Comedy of Errors
| image      = Robson Crane Comedy of Errors.jpg
| alt        = 
| caption    = Poster for 1879 production on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]], featuring [[Stuart Robson (actor)|Stuart Robson]] and [[William H. Crane]]
| writer     = [[William Shakespeare]]
| based_on   = <!-- {{based on|title of the original work|creator of the original work}} -->
| chorus     = 
| characters = {{unbulleted list|
* Solinus – [[Duke]] of Ephesus
* Aegeon – a merchant of Syracuse – father of the Antipholus twins
* Emilia – an Abbess – Antipholus' lost mother – wife to Aegeon
* Antipholus of Ephesus and Antipholus of Syracuse – twin brothers, sons of Aegeon and Emilia
* 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 – kitchen wench/maid to Adriana, Wife of  Dromio of Ephesus
* Luce – a witty and vivacious servant in the household of Antipholus of Syracuse
* Balthazar – a merchant
* Angelo – a [[goldsmith]]
* Courtesan
* First merchant – friend to Antipholus of Syracuse
* Second merchant – to whom Angelo is in debt
* Doctor Pinch – a conjuring schoolmaster
* Gaoler, Headsman, Officers, and other Attendants}}
| mute       = 
| setting    = 
| premiere   = {{circa|1592}}
| place      = 
| orig_lang  = [[Early Modern English]]
| series     = 
| subject    = 
| genre      = [[Shakespearean comedy]]
| web        = 
}}

'''''The Comedy of Errors''''' is one of [[William Shakespeare]]'s earliest plays. It is his shortest and one of his most [[farcical]] [[Shakespearean comedy|comedies]], with a major part of the humour coming from [[slapstick]] and mistaken identity, in addition to [[pun]]s and [[word play]]. It has been adapted for opera, stage, screen and musical theatre numerous times worldwide. In the centuries following its premiere, the play's title has entered the popular English lexicon as an idiom for "an event or series of events made ridiculous by the number of errors that were made throughout".<ref>{{cite web |title=Definition of 'Comedy of Errors' |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comedy+of+errors |website=merriam-webster.com |date=24 March 2024}}</ref>

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]].

[[File:Comedy of Errors-Dromios.jpg|right|250px|thumb|The twin Dromios in a [[Pacific Repertory Theatre|Carmel Shakespeare Festival]] production, [[Forest Theater]], Carmel, California, 2008]]

==Synopsis==

===Act I===
Because a law forbids merchants from Syracuse from entering Ephesus, elderly Syracusan trader Aegeon faces execution when he is discovered in the city. He can only escape by paying a fine of a thousand marks. He tells his sad story to Solinus, Duke of Ephesus. In his youth, Aegeon married and had twin sons. On the same day, a poor woman without a job also gave birth to twin boys, and he purchased these as servants to his sons. Soon afterward, the family made a sea voyage and was hit by a tempest. Aegeon lashed himself to the main-mast with one son and one servant, and his wife took the other two infants. His wife was rescued by one boat, Aegeon by another. Aegeon never again saw his wife or the children with her. Recently his son Antipholus, now grown, and his son's servant, Dromio, left Syracuse to find their brothers. When Antipholus did not return, Aegeon set out in search of him. The Duke is moved by this story and grants Aegeon one day to pay his fine.

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.

===Act II===
Dromio of Ephesus returns to his mistress, Adriana, saying that her "husband" refused to come back to his house, and even pretended not to know her. Adriana, concerned that her husband's eye is straying, takes this news as confirmation of her suspicions.

Antipholus of Syracuse, who complains "I could not speak with Dromio since at first, I sent him from the mart," meets up with Dromio of Syracuse who now denies making a "joke" about Antipholus having a wife. Antipholus begins beating him. Suddenly, Adriana rushes up to Antipholus of Syracuse and begs him not to leave her. The Syracusans cannot but attribute these strange events to witchcraft, remarking that Ephesus is known as a warren for witches. Antipholus and Dromio go off with this strange woman, the one to eat dinner and the other to keep the gate.

===Act III===
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===
Antipholus of Ephesus dispatches Dromio of Ephesus to purchase a rope so that he can beat his wife Adriana for locking him out, then is accosted by Angelo, who tells him "I thought to have ta'en you at the Porpentine" and asks to be reimbursed for the chain. He denies ever seeing it and is promptly arrested. As he is being led away, Dromio of Syracuse arrives, whereupon Antipholus dispatches him back to Adriana's house to get money for his bail. After completing this errand, Dromio of Syracuse mistakenly delivers the money to Antipholus of Syracuse. The Courtesan spies Antipholus wearing the gold chain, and says he promised it to her in exchange for her ring. The Syracusans deny this and flee. The Courtesan resolves to tell Adriana that her husband is insane. Dromio of Ephesus returns to the arrested Antipholus of Ephesus, with the rope. Antipholus is infuriated. Adriana, Luciana, and the Courtesan enter with a conjurer named Pinch, who tries to exorcize the Ephesians, who are bound and taken to Adriana's house. The Syracusans enter, carrying swords, and everybody runs off for fear: believing that they are the Ephesians, out for vengeance after somehow escaping their bonds. 

===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 Aegeon's wife, Emilia. The Duke pardons Aegeon. All exit into the abbey to celebrate the reunification of the family.

==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|9780198129332}}</ref> The play was not published until it appeared in the [[First Folio]] in 1623.

==Analysis and criticism==
For centuries, scholars have found little thematic depth in ''The Comedy of Errors''. [[Harold Bloom]], however, wrote that it "reveals Shakespeare's magnificence at the art of comedy",<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FaZP7cR5Z04C|title=The Comedy of Errors|editor-last=Bloom|editor-first=Harold|publisher=Infobase Publishing|date=2010|isbn=978-1438134406}}</ref> and praised the work as showing "such skill, indeed mastery – in action, incipient character, and stagecraft – that it far outshines the three ''Henry VI'' plays and the rather lame comedy ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona''".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/b/bloom-shakespeare.html|title=Shakespeare: The Comedy of Errors|last=Bloom|first=Harold|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=5 May 2018}}</ref> [[Stanley Wells]] also referred to it as the first Shakespeare play "in which mastery of craft is displayed".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/apr/02/best-shakespeare-productions-the-comedy-of-errors|title=Best Shakespeare productions: The Comedy of Errors|last=Billington|first=Michael|date=2014-04-02|website=The Guardian |access-date=2018-05-15}}</ref> The play was not a particular favourite on the eighteenth-century stage because it failed to offer the kind of striking roles that actors such as [[David Garrick]] could exploit.

The play was particularly notable in one respect. In the earlier eighteenth century, some critics followed the French critical standard of judging the quality of a play by its adherence to the [[classical unities]], as specified by [[Aristotle]] in the fourth century BC. ''The Comedy of Errors'' and ''[[The Tempest]]'' were the only two of Shakespeare's plays to comply with this standard.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bloom|first=Harold|author-link=Harold Bloom|editor=Marson, Janyce|title=The Comedy of Errors|series=Bloom's Literary Criticism|year=2010|publisher=Infobase|location=New York|isbn=978-1-60413-720-0|page=57|quote=It is noteworthy that ''The Comedy of Errors'' and Shakespeare's last play, ''The Tempest'', are the only two plays that strictly adhere to the classical unities.}}</ref>

Law professor Eric Heinze, however, argues that particularly notable in the play is a series of social relationships, which is in crisis as it sheds its feudal forms and confronts the market forces of early modern Europe.<ref>Eric Heinze, "'Were it not against our laws': Oppression and Resistance in Shakespeare's ''Comedy of Errors''", 29 ''Legal Studies'' (2009), pp. 230–263</ref>

==Performance==
Two early performances of ''The Comedy of Errors'' are recorded. One, by "a company of base and common fellows", is mentioned in the ''Gesta Grayorum'' ("The Deeds of Gray") as having occurred in [[Gray's Inn]] Hall on 28 December 1594 during the [[Revels (Inns of Court)|inn's revels]]. The second also took place on "[[Innocent's Day|Innocents' Day]]", but ten years later: 28 December 1604, at Court.<ref>The identical dates may not be coincidental; the Pauline and Ephesian aspect of the play, noted under Sources, may have had the effect of linking ''The Comedy of Errors'' to the holiday season{{snd}}much like ''Twelfth Night,'' another play secular on its surface but linked to the Christmas holidays.</ref>

==Adaptations==
[[File:ComedyErrors1.JPG|thumb|The Dromios from a [[Book frontispiece|frontispiece]] dated 1890]]

===Theatrical===
Like many of Shakespeare's plays, ''The Comedy of Errors'' was adapted and rewritten extensively, particularly from the 18th century on, with varying reception from audiences.

==== Classical adaptations ====
* ''[[Every Body Mistaken]]'' is a 1716 "revival" and directorial adaptation of Shakespeare's play by an anonymous author.<ref name="auto2">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-ZlaObECZ6IC&q=charles+macklin+dromio+drury+lane&pg=PR17|title=The Comedy of Errors|last=Shakespeare|first=William|year=2009|publisher=Random House Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-307-41928-6}}</ref> 
* ''See If You Like It''; ''or, 'Tis All a Mistake'', an anonymous adaptation staged in 1734 at [[Royal Opera House|Covent Garden]], performed in two acts with text from Plautus and Shakespeare. Shakespeare purists considered it to be the "worst alteration" available.<ref name="auto">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bkBDAQAAMAAJ&q=%22see+if+you+like+it%22+covent+gardens&pg=PA124|title=The Gentleman's Magazine|date=1856|publisher=R. Newton}}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fN0gAwAAQBAJ&q=%22see+if+you+like+it%22+covent+gardens&pg=PA386|title=Shakespeare in the Eighteenth Century|last1=Ritchie|first1=Fiona|last2=Sabor|first2=Peter|year=2012|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-37765-3}}</ref>
* ''The Twins'', an adaptation by [[Thomas Hull (actor)|Thomas Hull]] produced for Covent Garden in 1739, in which Hull played Aegeon. This production was more faithful to Shakespeare's text, and played for several years.<ref name="auto"/> This adaptation was performed only once in 1762, and was published in 1770. Hull adapted the play a second time as ''The Comedy of Errors. With Alterations from Shakespeare''. This version was staged frequently from 1779 onward, and was published in 1793.<ref name="auto1"/> Hull added songs, intensified the love interest, and elaborated the recognition scene. He also expanded roles for women, including Adriana's cousin Hermia, who sang various songs.<ref name="auto2"/>
* ''The Twins; or, Which is Which? A Farce. In Three Acts'' by William Woods, published in 1780. Produced at the [[Theatre Royal, Edinburgh|Theatre-Royal]], Edinburgh.<ref name="auto1"/> This adaptation reduced the play to a three-act farce, apparently believing that a longer run time should "pall upon an audience". John Philip Kemble (see below) seemed to have extended and based his own adaptation upon ''The Twins''.<ref name="auto2"/>
* ''Oh! It's Impossible'', by [[John Philip Kemble]], was produced in 1780. This adaptation caused a stir by casting the two Dromios as black-a-moors.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924027117732|page=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924027117732/page/n298 309]|quote=oh! it's impossible kemble.|title=The Lives of the Players|last=Galt|first=John|date=1886|publisher=Hamilton, Adams}}</ref> It was acted in York, but not printed.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pxeszJppJ34C&q=oh!+it's+impossible+kemble&pg=PA373|title=Dictionary of National Biography |date=1892}}</ref> Later, nearly 20 years after slavery had been abolished within British domains, [[James Boaden]] wrote, "I incline to think [Kemble's] maturer judgement would certainly have consigned the whole impression to the flames.")<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wq_fAgAAQBAJ&q=oh!+it's+impossible+kemble&pg=PA65|title=Garrick, Kemble, Siddons, Kean: Great Shakespeareans|last=Holland|first=Peter|year=2014|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-1-4411-6296-0}}</ref>

==== 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 was aired on [[MTV]] and [[PBS]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-ZlaObECZ6IC&dq=charles+macklin+dromio+drury+lane&pg=PR17|title=The Comedy of Errors|first=William|last=Shakespeare|date=16 September 2009|publisher=Random House Publishing Group|accessdate=26 June 2025|via=Google Books}}</ref>
* ''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 |last=Smith |first=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 Turn to Flesh Productions<ref>{{cite web|url=https://turntoflesh.org/|title=NYC Theatre: Turn to Flesh Productions Reviving Classics with a Modern Twist|date=20 February 2024|access-date=26 June 2025}}</ref> in 2017, featuring [[Abby Wilde]] as Glorielle of Syracuse. The play received acclaim, being named a finalist with the [[American Shakespeare Center]], as part of the [[American Shakespeare Center#Shakespeare's New Contemporaries (SNC)|Shakespeare's New Contemporaries]] program,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://newplayexchange.org/plays/214444/comedy-heirors|title=A Comedy of Heirors {{!}} New Play Exchange|website=newplayexchange.org|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> as well as "The Top 15 NYC Plays of '17" by ''A Work Unfinishing.''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://aworkunfinishing.blogspot.com/2017/12/my-favorite-theater-of-2017.html|title=A work unfinishing: My Favorite Theater of 2017|last=Knapp|first=Zelda|date=2017-12-28|website=A work unfinishing|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> The play focuses on two sets of female twins, who also interact with Shakespeare's Antipholi. The play is in conversation with several of Shakespeare's comedies, including characters from ''The Comedy of Errors'', ''[[Twelfth Night]]'', ''[[As You Like It]]'', and ''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]''.

===Opera===
* On 27 December 1786, the opera ''[[Gli equivoci]]'' by [[Stephen Storace]] received its première at the [[Burgtheater]] in Vienna. The [[libretto]], by [[Lorenzo da Ponte]], Mozart's frequent librettist, worked off a French translation of Shakespeare's play, follows the play's plot fairly closely, though some characters were renamed, Aegeon and Emilia are cut, and Euphemio (previously Antipholus) and Dromio are shipwrecked on Ephesus.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Holden |editor1-first=Amanda |editor2-last=Kenyon |editor2-first=Nicholas |editor3-last=Walsh |editor3-first=Stephen |title=The Viking Opera Guide |year=1993 |publisher=Viking |location=London |isbn=0-670-81292-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780670812929/page/1016 1016] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780670812929/page/1016 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rsc.org.uk/the-comedy-of-errors/about-the-play/stage-history|title=Stage history {{!}} The Comedy of Errors {{!}} Royal Shakespeare Company|website=www.rsc.org.uk|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref>
* [[Frederic Reynolds]] staged an operatic version in 1819, with music by [[Henry Bishop (composer)|Henry Bishop]] supplemented lyrics from various Shakespeare plays, and sonnets set to melodies by [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]], [[Thomas Augustine Arne|Thomas Arne]], and others.<ref name="auto2"/> The opera was performed at Covent Garden under [[Charles Kemble]]'s management and included several additional scenes from the play, which were considered necessary for the sake of introducing songs. The same operatic adaptation was revived in 1824 for [[Theatre Royal, Drury Lane|Drury Lane]].<ref name="auto"/>
* Various other adaptations were performed down to 1855 when [[Samuel Phelps]] revived the Shakespearean original at [[Sadler's Wells Theatre]].<ref>[[F. E. Halliday]], ''A Shakespeare Companion 1564–1964'', Baltimore, Penguin, 1964; p. 112.</ref> 
* The Czech composer [[Iša Krejčí]]'s 1943 opera ''[[Pozdvižení v Efesu]]'' (Turmoil in Ephesus) is based on the play.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MH7ADAAAQBAJ&q=Pozdvi%C5%BEen%C3%AD+v+Efesu&pg=PA749|title=The Oxford Handbook of Shakespearean Tragedy|last1=Neill|first1=Michael|last2=Schalkwyk|first2=David|date=2016|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-872419-3}}</ref>

===Musicals===
The play has been adapted as a musical several times, frequently by inserting period music into the light comedy.  Some musical adaptations include a Victorian musical comedy (Arts Theatre, Cambridge, England, 1951), Brechtian folk opera ([[Arts Theatre]], London, 1956), and a two-ring circus ([[Delacorte Theater]], New York, 1967).

Fully original musical adaptations include:

* ''[[The Boys from Syracuse]]'', composed by [[Richard Rodgers]] and lyrics by [[Lorenz Hart]].  The play premiered on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in 1938 and [[Off-Broadway]] in 1963, with later productions including a [[West End theatre|West End]] run in 1963 and in a Broadway revival in 2002.  [[The Boys from Syracuse (film)|A film adaptation]] was released in 1940. 
* ''A New Comedy of Errors, or Too Many Twins'' (1940), adapted from Plautus, Shakespeare and [[Molière]], staged in modern dress at London's Mercury Theatre.<ref name="auto2"/><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d_xHQR9pHJ0C&q=a+new+comedy+of+errors+or+too+many+twins+moliere+london++mercury+theatre&pg=PR54|title=The Comedy of Errors: Second Series|last=Shakespeare|first=William|year= 1962|publisher=Cengage Learning EMEA|isbn=978-0-416-47460-2|language=en}}</ref>
*''The Comedy of Errors'' (1972) adaptation by James McCloskey, music and lyrics by Bruce Kimmel.  Premiered at Los Angeles City College and went on to the American College Theatre Festival. 
*''[[The Comedy of Errors (musical)|The Comedy of Errors]]'' is a musical with book and lyrics by [[Trevor Nunn]], and music by [[Guy Woolfenden]].  It was produced for the [[Royal Shakespeare Company]] in 1976, winning the [[Laurence Olivier Award]] for best musical on its transfer to the [[West End theatre|West End]] in 1977.
* ''Oh, Brother!'' is a musical comedy in one act, with music by Michael Valenti and books and lyrics by Donald Driver, which premiered at [[ANTA Theatre]] in 1981, also directed by Driver.  The musical takes place during a revolution in an oil rich Middle Eastern country on the Persian Gulf in a quaint resort town where its populace of merchants and revolutionaries mix Eastern tradition with Western consumerism.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.guidetomusicaltheatre.com/shows_o/oh_brother.htm|title=Oh, Brother – The Guide to Musical Theatre|website=guidetomusicaltheatre.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> ''The New York Times'' gave it a poor review, criticising Driver's heavy handedness, while praising some of the music and performances.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/11/theater/the-stage-oh-brother-a-musical.html|title=The Stage: 'Oh, Brother!,' a Musical|last=Rich|first=Frank|date=1981-11-11|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-12-12|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
* ''[[The Bomb-itty of Errors]]'', a one-act [[hip-hop]] musical adaptation, by [[Jordan Allen-Dutton]], Jason Catalano, [[Gregory J. Qaiyum]], Jeffrey Qaiyum, and [[Erik Weiner|Erik Weinner]], won 1st Prize at [[HBO]]'s [[The Comedy Festival|Comedy Festival]] and was nominated opposite [[Stephen Sondheim]] for the Best Lyrics [[Drama Desk Award]] in 2001.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.samuelfrench.com/p/1942/the-bomb-itty-of-errors|title=The Bomb-itty of Errors {{!}} Samuel French|website=www.samuelfrench.com|language=en|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref>

* In 1940 the film ''[[The Boys from Syracuse (film)|The Boys from Syracuse]]'' was released, starring Alan Jones and Joe Penner as Antipholus and Dromio.  It was a musical, loosely based on ''The Comedy of Errors''.

===Novel===
In India, [[Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar]] adapted Shakespeare's play in his Bengali novel ''Bhranti Bilash'' (1869). Vidyasagar's efforts were part of the process of championing Shakespeare and the Romantics during the [[Bengal Renaissance]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/the-bard-in-bollywood/article3748294.ece|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140902065234/http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/the-bard-in-bollywood/article3748294.ece|url-status=dead|title=The Bard in Bollywood |date=2 September 2014|archive-date=2 September 2014|newspaper=The Hindu|last1=Bhattacharya|first1=Budhaditya}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.contemporaryresearchindia.com/Pdf/CRI/March%202014/18.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2014-09-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903115125/http://www.contemporaryresearchindia.com/Pdf/CRI/March%202014/18.pdf |archive-date=3 September 2014}}</ref>

===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 Comedy of Errors'', with female twins instead of male. [[Bette Midler]] and [[Lily Tomlin]] star in the film as two sets of twins separated at birth, much like the characters in Shakespeare's play.

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:
* ''[[Bhrantibilas]]'' (1963 Bengali film) starring [[Uttam Kumar]]
* ''[[Do Dooni Chaar (1968 film)|Do Dooni Char]]'' starring [[Kishore Kumar]]
* ''[[Angoor (1982 film)|Angoor]]'' starring [[Sanjeev Kumar]]
* ''[[Oorantha Golanta (1989 film)|Oorantha Golanta]]'' starring [[Chandra Mohan (Telugu actor)|Chandra Mohan]]
* ''[[Ulta Palta (1997 film)|Ulta Palta]]'' in the [[Kannada language]] starring [[Ramesh Aravind]]
* ''[[Ulta Palta (1998 film)|Ulta Palta]]'' in the [[Telugu language]] starring [[Rajendra Prasad (actor)|Rajendra Prasad]]
* ''[[Ambuttu Imbuttu Embuttu]]'' in the [[Tamil language]]
* ''Aamait Asal Eemait Kusal'' in the [[Tulu language]] starring [[Naveen D Padil]]
* ''[[Double Di Trouble]]'' (2014 Punjabi Film) directed by Smeep Kang and starring [[Dharmendra]], [[Gippy Grewal]]
* ''[[Local Kung Fu 2]]'' (2017 [[Assamese language|Assamese]] martial arts film)
* ''[[Cirkus (film)|Cirkus]]''  (2022 movie in Hindi language starring [[Ranveer Singh]])

===Television===
* [[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 "Zanzibar" (season 4, episode 1) was based on The Comedy of Errors
* Season 13 Episode 4 of [[Bob's Burgers]]: 'Comet-y of Errors' is also a reference to Shakespeare's play.

== See also ==

* [[List of idioms attributed to Shakespeare]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{EB1911|wstitle=Shakespeare, William|volume=24|pages=772–797}} (See p.&nbsp;778; section '''Dramas'''.)

===Editions of ''The Comedy of Errors''===
<div>
* [[Jonathan Bate|Bate, Jonathan]] and Rasmussen, Eric (eds.), ''The Comedy of Errors'' (The RSC Shakespeare; London: Macmillan, 2011)
* Cunningham, Henry (ed.) ''The Comedy of Errors'' (The Arden Shakespeare, 1st Series; London: Arden, 1907)
* Dolan, Francis E. (ed.) ''The Comedy of Errors'' (The Pelican Shakespeare, 2nd edition; London, Penguin, 1999)
* Dorsch, T.S. (ed.) ''The Comedy of Errors'' (The New Cambridge Shakespeare; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988; 2nd edition 2004)
* [[J. Dover Wilson|Dover Wilson, John]] (ed.) ''The Comedy of Errors'' (The New Shakespeare; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1922; 2nd edition 1962)
* [[G. Blakemore Evans|Evans, G. Blakemore]] (ed.) ''[[Riverside Shakespeare|The Riverside Shakespeare]]'' (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1974; 2nd edn., 1997)
* [[R. A. Foakes|Foakes, R.A.]] (ed.) ''The Comedy of Errors'' (The Arden Shakespeare, 2nd Series; London: Arden, 1962)
* [[Stephen Greenblatt|Greenblatt, Stephen]]; Cohen, Walter; Howard, Jean E., and Maus, Katharine Eisaman (eds.) ''The Norton Shakespeare: Based on the Oxford Shakespeare'' (London: Norton, 1997)
* Jorgensen, Paul A. (ed.) ''The Comedy of Errors'' (The Pelican Shakespeare; London, Penguin, 1969; revised edition 1972)
* [[Harry Levin|Levin, Harry]] (ed.) ''The Comedy of Errors'' (Signet Classic Shakespeare; New York: Signet, 1965; revised edition, 1989; 2nd revised edition 2002)
* Martin, Randall (ed.) ''The Comedy of Errors'' (The New Penguin Shakespeare, 2nd edition; London: Penguin, 2005)
* [[Stanley Wells|Wells, Stanley]] (ed.) ''The Comedy of Errors'' (The New Penguin Shakespeare; London: Penguin, 1972)
* SwipeSpeare ''The Comedy of Errors'' (Golgotha Press, Inc., 2011)
* Wells, Stanley; Taylor, Gary; Jowett, John and Montgomery, William (eds.) ''The Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986; 2nd edn., 2005)
* Werstine, Paul and Mowat, Barbara A. (eds.) ''The Comedy of Errors'' (Folger Shakespeare Library; Washington: [[Simon & Schuster]], 1996)
* Whitworth, Charles (ed.) ''The Comedy of Errors'' (The Oxford Shakespeare: Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002)
</div>

==Further reading==
* {{cite journal
  |title = The Madness of Syracusan Antipholus
  |last = O'Brien
  |first = Robert Viking
  |year = 1996
  |journal = [[Early Modern Literary Studies]]
  |volume = 2
  |issue = 1
  |pages = 3.1–26
  |issn = 1201-2459
  |url = http://extra.shu.ac.uk/emls/02-1/obrishak.html
  |ref = none
}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary|comedy of errors}}

* {{Wikiquote-inline}}
* {{Wikisource-inline}}
* {{Commonscatinline}}
* {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/william-shakespeare/the-comedy-of-errors}}
* {{gutenberg|no=1504|name=The Comedy of Errors}}
* {{librivox book | title=The Comedy of Errors | author=William Shakespeare}}
* [http://www.swipespeare.com/the-comedy-of-errors.html "Modern Translation of the Play"] – Modern version of the play
* [http://shakespeare.mit.edu/comedy_errors/index.html ''The Comedie of Errors''] – HTML version of this title.
* [http://www.graysinnbanqueting.com/the-rooms/the-hall/ Photos of Gray's Inn Hall] – the hall where the play was once performed
* [http://webenglishteacher.com/ce.html Lesson plans for teaching ''The Comedy of Errors''] at Web English Teacher
* [http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=4471 Information on the 1987 Broadway production]

{{Shakespeare}}
{{The Comedy of Errors}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Comedy of Errors, The}}
[[Category:1592 plays]]
[[Category:British plays adapted into films]]
[[Category:English Renaissance plays]]
[[Category:Fiction about twins]]
[[Category:Plays based on works by Plautus]]
[[Category:Plays set in ancient Greece]]
[[Category:Shakespearean comedies]]
[[Category:Works based on Menaechmi]]