The Comedy of Errors

By: Shaughnessy, Robert

The Comedy of Errors traces the performance history of Shakespeare's play from its earliest appearances in the late sixteenth century to the present day. Moving across stage and screen, the book examines theatrical productions, television adaptations, musical reworkings and cinematic versions, situating them within changing cultures of comedy. It explores how the play's farcical structures of doubling, mistaken identity and reunion have been reshaped by shifting understandings of gender, sexuality, race and social class. Drawing on examples from the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre and Shakespeare's Globe, alongside adaptations such as The Boys from Syracuse and the Hindi film Angoor, the study reveals how performers and directors have negotiated both the play's comic exuberance and its troubling implications. By placing performance at the centre of interpretation, the book shows how social attitudes continually redefine what audiences find humorous.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1526150921
• ISBN13: 9781526150929
• Release Date: March 2027
• Publisher: Manchester University Press
• Length: 264 Pages