Writer: William Shakespeare
Directors: Kara Stanley and Jodie Garnish
Returning to the Old Red Lion Theatre, The Prattling Fools dazzle the audience with their much shorter performance of William Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors.
The original Comedy of Errors is considered one of Shakespeare’s earliest works. The story follows two sets of identical twins who were separated at birth. When they all end up in the same city, chaos ensues. This play has a lot of slapstick comedy that the Prattling Fools use to their advantage to create a fun performance.
This show has a play within a play element. Instead of jumping right into the classic Shakespearean work, the audience first meets The Penge West Queer (+allies!) Over 30s (in spirit) Baking and Crafts Club. Upon entering the theatre space, Susie Simons (Kara Stanley) hands out a pamphlet to each audience member detailing each character’s backstory. Immediately, audiences are drawn into this production as they watch Susie deal with last-minute issues surrounding late cast members, stage fright, and other general backstage issues that occur when putting on a production.
There is little time to get to know these characters before they jump into their Shakespeare roles. This is a shame since while the pamphlet provides a bit more context, audience members may not have time to read it as the show is literally occurring as they are sitting down.
This being said, the actors do a wonderful job of creating unique situations surrounding the Shakespearean text to quickly set the scene. Their on-stage humour matches the Shakespearean dialogue and plot. One of the highlights is when Dave “Dave” Paul (Alexander Costas-Christophi) forgets his lines in the middle of the play. Luckily, he has left them in various strange and fun locations that leaves the audience laughing.
The props are simple, yet effective. From the mop with a wig and a fellow cast member’s face depicted on it, to a lightsaber, to wrestling masks, this production creates a place that feels like amateur theatre. Yet, the props work well, supporting the story to assist the audience in following along while also having a laugh at how it is done.
The Shakespearean dialogue is well delivered. Yet, there are too many instances where a cast member shouts their lines. However, this is perhaps to show, especially at the end of the play, that they are fed up with each other and done with the performance.
This production is pure chaos from start to finish. It stays true to the Shakespeare story, but ultimately, we follow the actors playing six wannabe characters who cannot catch a break without creating a mess.
Runs until 15 November 2025
