History Theatre / TheComedyOfErrors

* DeadGuyJunior: The reason we have two Antipholuses and two Dromios. They're not exactly common names! (It's hard to tell, though, since most Shakespeare play characters are AerithAndBob to modern ears at best, and would be more so if people didn't to this day regularly name their children after characters in Shakespeare.)
* DoubleInLawMarriage: At the end, Antipholus of Syracuse gets together with Luciana, Antipholus of Ephesus' sister-in-law.
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: The 'comedy of errors' was a common, recognizable stock plot at the time of writing. It'd be a bit like baldly titling something ''ComingOfAgeStory'' today.

While not as popular as Shakespeare's A-list, ''Comedy of Errors'' is still performed today. It was adapted into a Rodgers and Hart musical, ''The Boys from Syracuse'', and into a 1988 movie, ''Big Business'', starring Lily Tomlin and Bette Midler (as the gender-flipped pairs of twins). There is also a famous but (until Youtube) hard-to-find 1987 production by the juggling troupe The Flying Karamozov Brothers, which begins with the famous line... "In Syracuse, you dress in a tie. In Ephesus, you ''JUGGLE OR DIE!''"

* ShoutOut: The scene with Nell, the spherical kitchen maid, on whose body the brothers point out countries, is similar to a scene in ''{{Lysistrata}}'', where a peace treaty is drawn on a woman's naked body.

* AbhorrentAdmirer: Nell the kitchen wench, an unseen character, is enamoured of Dromio of Syracuse; he does not return the affection. In what might be an OlderThanSteam subversion, though, Dromio of Ephesus ''does''.

* DeadGuyJunior: The reason we have two Antipholuses and two Dromios. They're not exactly common names!
** It's hard to tell, though, since most Shakespeare play characters are AerithAndBob to modern ears at best, and would be more so if people didn't to this day regularly name their children after characters in Shakespeare.

* IdenticalStranger
* TheMasochismTango: Antipholus of Ephesus and his wife. He calls her a shrew and she's annoyed by his flippant ways, to say nothing of his deciding to beat her with a rope.
* NoodleIncident: Nell again, who is never seen, only described briefly. Shakespeare knew he couldn't top what the viewer was probably thinking.

While not as popular as Shakespeare's A-list, ''Comedy of Errors'' is still performed today. It was adapted into a Rodgers and Hart musical, ''The Boys from Syracuse'', and into a 1988 movie, ''Big Business'', starring Lily Tomlin and Bette Midler (as the gender-flipped pairs of twins).

* [[HeWhoMustNotBeSeen She Who Must Not Be Seen]]: Nell from the kitchen again.
* TakingTheVeil: Emilia did this, believing her husband dead. No the ancient Greeks did not have convents. Ask Shakespeare if he cared.

* ContrivedCoincidence

* TheMasochismTango: Antipholus of Ephesus and his wife.

* OneSteveLimit: Avoided, much to the chagrin of the characters (and the audience trying to figure out who's who)
* SeparatedAtBirth

* TwinSwitch

* TakingTheVeil: Emilia did this, believing her husband dead.

*** The Flying Karamzov Brothers version of this follows this line with everyone in the cast cheering "Author! Author!" And Shakespear coming out and accepting a bouquet of flowers.

* AbhorrentAdmirer: Nell the kitchen wench, an unseen character, is enamoured of Dromio of Ephesus; he does not return the affection. In what might be an OlderThanSteam subversion, though, Dromio of Syracuse ''does''.

While not as popular as Shakespeare's A-list, ''Comedy of Errors'' is still performed today. It was adapted into a Rodgers and Hart musical, ''The Boys from Syracuse'', and into a 1988 movie, ''BigBusiness'', starring Lily Tomlin and Bette Midler (as the gender-flipped pairs of twins).

->We came into the world like brother and brother;
->And now let's go hand in hand, not one before another.

-->We came into the world like brother and brother;
-->And now let's go hand in hand, not one before another.

** Some productions get around this by simply having the twins played by the same actor. Done right, this can create a whole new level of comedy, though it requires the use of FakeShemps for the twins in the resolution (for example, the 2013 New York Public Theater version).

** Some productions get around this by simply having the twins played by the same actor. Done right, this can create a whole new level of comedy.
*** This is impossible unless you cut the entire resolution. What productions are you watching?

A comedy ([[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin of errors]]) by Creator/WilliamShakespeare, based off an even older play by {{Plautus}}. It chronicles the misadventures of two sets of long-lost identical twins, with the same name, as they get mistaken for one another. It's also one of the only Shakespearean plays that follow the Classical Unities-- unity of time, unity of place, and unity of story. [[note]] The Classical Unities were supposed "rules" for the theater that consisted of the following: Unity of Time meant the play must take place in no more than 24 hours. Unity of place meant that ideally the stage should represent one singular location, or at most the play should be limited to the same general location, such as the same city. Unity of story meant that everything in the play should follow one main action, with few or no subplots.[[/note]] It's also his shortest play.

A comedy ([[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin of errors]]) by WilliamShakespeare, based off an even older play by {{Plautus}}. It chronicles the misadventures of two sets of long-lost identical twins, with the same name, as they get mistaken for one another. It's also one of the only Shakespearean plays that follow the Classical Unities-- unity of time, unity of place, and unity of story. [[hottip:*: The Classical Unities were supposed "rules" for the theater that consisted of the following: Unity of Time meant the play must take place in no more than 24 hours. Unity of place meant that ideally the stage should represent one singular location, or at most the play should be limited to the same general location, such as the same city. Unity of story meant that everything in the play should follow one main action, with few or no subplots.]] It's also his shortest play.

A comedy ([[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin of errors]]) by WilliamShakespeare, based off an even older play by {{Plautus}}. It chronicles the misadventures of two sets of long-lost identical twins, with the same name, as they get mistaken for one another. It's also one of the only Shakespearean plays that follow the Classical Unities-- unity of time, unity of place, and unity of story. [[hottip:*: The Classical Unities were supposed "rules" for the theater that consisted of the following: Unity of Time meant the play must take place in no more than 24 hours. Unity of place meant that ideally the stage should represent one singular location, or at most the play should be limited to the same general location, such as the same city. Unity of story meant that everything in the play should follow one main action, with few or no subplots.]]

A comedy ([[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin of errors]]) by WilliamShakespeare. It chronicles the misadventures of two sets of long-lost identical twins, with the same name, as they get mistaken for one another. It's also one of the only Shakespearean plays that follow the Classical Unities-- unity of time, unity of place, and unity of story. [[hottip:*: The Classical Unities were supposed "rules" for the theater that consisted of the following: Unity of Time meant the play must take place in no more than 24 hours. Unity of place meant that ideally the stage should represent one singular location, or at most the play should be limited to the same general location, such as the same city. Unity of story meant that everything in the play should follow one main action, with few or no subplots.]]

Aegon, a merchant from Syracuse, has just been arrested by the Duke of Ephesus and is set to be executed unless he pays the Duke a sizable fine. Hoping for mercy, Aegon tells the Duke about his life before his arrest: He was married to a woman named Aemelia, and together had twin boys. The new parents acquired a set of poor twins to serve as valets for when their children became adults, but soon after the family was separated by a shipwreck. Aegon survived, with his Antipholus and the valet Dromio. Years later, Antipholus and Dromio left Syracuse to find their long-lost brothers, and when they didn't return, Aegon set off to find them himself, only to get arrested in Ephesus. The Duke is touched by the story, and grants Aegon a one-day extension on the fine (and execution).

Aegon is a merchant from Syracuse, who has been arrested by the Duke of Ephesus. He is set to be executed unless he pays a sizable fine to the Duke. He tells the Duke about his life before his arrest: He was married to a woman named Aemelia. They were new parents of twin boys, and had acquired a set of poor twins to serve as valets for when their children became adults. Sadly, the family was separated by a shipwreck; Aegon survived, with Antipholus, his son, and Dromio, the servant. Years later, the two left Syracuse to find their long-lost brothers. When they don't return, Aegon sets off to find them himself, but gets arrested in Ephesus. The Duke is touched by the story, and grants a one-day extension on the fine.

Meanwhile, Antipholus and Dromio ''of Syracuse'' (this'll become important later) arrive in Ephesus. Antipholus sends his servant off to pay for a hotel, and then things become confusing. See, the other set of twins is alive and well and living in Ephesus, and, in fact, ''they have the same names as their brothers''. Aemelia, apparently, wanted to name them after their siblings. The obvious occurs: Dromio of Ephesus wanders on stage, and when Antipholus of Syracuse asks if he's secured the inn, he has no idea what he's talking about. Believing Dromio of Ephesus is teasing him, Antipholus of Syracuse beats him. The same happens with Antipholus of Ephesus and Dromio of Syracuse, and the Ephesians' various lovers. Repeat for two-to-three hours, adding bawdy jokes, accusations of infidelity, and money-transfers when appropriate. Everything ends happily, with the brothers, parents, and lovers all reunited.

-->'''A. of Syracuse:''' (discussing where countries are on a woman's body) Where stood Belgia, the Netherlands?

Aegeon is a merchant from Syracuse, who has been arrested by the Duke of Ephesus. He is set to be executed unless he pays a sizable fine to the Duke. He tells the Duke about his life before his arrest: He was married to a woman named Aemelia. They were new parents of twin boys, and had acquired a set of poor twins to serve as valets for when their children became adults. Sadly, the family was separated by a shipwreck; Aegon survived, with Antipholus, his son, and Dromio, the servant. Years later, the two left Syracuse to find their long-long brothers. When they don't return, Aegon sets off to find them himself, but gets arrested in Ephesus. The Duke is touched by the story, and grants a one-day extension on the fine.