Comedy of Errors – Day 17

1. Day Trip to Spitalfields Market.
2. Tried a burrito bowl this time, too spicy for my taste but it was okay. 
3. Tried Humble Crumble, yummy but hit my tummy like a ton of bricks. 
4. Tried to find iced tea, couldn’t find it anywhere, but they had enough hot tea, coffee, and boba to nourish an army. 
5. Finally made it into the gift shop at Shakespeare’s Globe. 
6. Got to see a replica of the Globe made out of legos, see one of the first folios, sit in a coronation chair, and see a Queen Elizabeth I costume from the 90’s. 
7. Watched Comedy of Errors while baking in the sun. 
8. Giant Group Dinner before our free weekend and traveling to Amsterdam. 
9. Headed out for karaoke night, had a blast singing and sweating our butts off. 
10. Slept for a little and then headed for the Airport!

Comedy of Errors was not my favorite play when we read it in class, so I was most looking forward to how they would be handling all of the fight choreography, all of the boats, and then potential doubling as we have seen that a lot already. I was pleasantly surprised when we walked in to see that they had screens that were showing exactly what the actors were saying mounted around the globe. I thought that would be a fun and simple way for a lot of people to understand more of what was happening, since sometimes it is hard to understand Shakespeare especially if you haven’t read it before seeing it. And these screens can help people with hearing deficiencies or people who have hard time understanding the accents. I think that the screens helped to an extent but they also hendered as well. As I found myself watching the screen a lot and forgetting to watch on stage. I had to keep reminding myself to look at what was happening and not be so worried about the text, that I had already read. 

For the stage combat, I loved it! They had a lot of it! I personally felt like the introduction fight scene, which was just a lot of the townspeople fighting with each other before the Duke comes in to announce who will be beheaded that day, was a lot and maybe not necessary. But if the message they were going for was to show a town in complete chaos and at the complete mercy of their Duke, then they achieved that. I do think it came a little out of left field, but it warmed up the audience for the rest of the slapping and punching that was going to be coming later in the show. 

Every stage punch, slap, or hit that was performed was accompanied by a stick being slapped together by a member of the band that was above, I think this really played into the comedy and slapstick (literally) comedy that Shakespeare was going for. And it not only shocked the audience but made us giggle. I was impressed by how on time the band member was every single time! He did not miss a sound cue by a second, he was spot on!

The boats that came in through the audience was also a really fun add on that I enjoyed, I think this really played into the audience involvement. Which seems to be a recurring theme in the shows that we have been seeing at The Globe. If there is a subtle way to involve the audience they will, whether that is addressing sounds that come from audience members, actors exiting or entering from the audience, or simply addressing them directly. I think this really added to the experience and made it feel like we were a part of Ephesus and watching this all unfold around us, which I really think gave a somewhat lackluster play more pizazz. 

I believe that all of the involvement with the audience, band, and even the weather is exactly what it would feel like going to see a show back in the day. It was an event and everyone treated it as such, I’d like to think Shakespeare would approve of what is being done to his work and theatre.