Customer Reviews

The Comedy of Errors (Arkangel Complete Shakespeare)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

An outstanding performance of one of my favorite plays:
The sound effects added a slapstick comedy feel to the play, making the scenery almost come alive as you listen. If you are not familiar with the play, I highly recommend reading it first, as I feel you will enjoy it far more.

We have a number of the Arkangel recordings, and really enjoy them. This one, The Comedy of Errors, is indeed a silly-funny play, which I assume is why the sound effects are so, well, silly and funny. Although I see why they did the sounds that way, it's distracting to me. A little too much slapstick, even in a slapstick kinda play.

Otherwise, the action and actors are easy enough to follow in this fun, fun play.

You might consider listening to the program via a library check-out before buying, if possible, to make sure you'll enjoy the style of sound effects.

This set of two CDs contains a really great dramatization of Shakespeare's classic play, The Comedy of Errors. Arkangel brought together a battery of great actors (including David Tennant - the 10th Doctor Who), who really brought the story to life. The production is very good with the manhandling of Dromio being accompanied by humorous sound effect.

I really did enjoy the play and had no problem following what was happening to whom and why. Yep, I found this to be a very enjoyable dramatization, and I do not hesitate to recommend it!

Two pairs of identical twins separated at birth come together in the same city, neither pair aware that the other is there. This sets the stage for a maddening series of mistaken-identity mishaps. The mistakes at first are small but annoying, but as the play progresses, they become larger and more serious until both pairs of twins are bound and imprisoned, and then a series of low-probability coincidences puts everything aright.

As I listened to the play, I couldn't help but think "The Three Stooges meet Lucy and Ricky." Unlike most modern situation comedies, "A Comedy of Errors" relies rather heavily on slapstick humor. At first the plot was a little off-putting, but as the situation became more and more tangled, it became more and more interesting, until at the end Shakespeare's deus-ex-machina resolution was quite pleasant. One of Shakespeare's better comedies, done superbly by Arkangel Shakespeare.