History Theatre / TheComedyOfErrors

* RhymingWithItself: Luciana and Antipholus of Syracuse have a rhyming back-and-forth where each seems to rhyme "sister" with "sister." The thing is, these lines are so short ("Thy sister" and "That's my sister") that they can be said quickly enough to keep the rhythm before Antipholus drops the real rhyme ("Why you call me love? call my sister so? / No.")

* RhymingWithItself: Luciana and Antipholus of Syrcuse have a rhyming back-and-forth where each seems to rhyme "sister" with "sister." The thing is, these lines are so short ("Thy sister" and "Thy sister's sister") that they can be said quickly enough to keep the rhythm before Antipholus drops the real rhyme ("Why you call me love? call my sister so? / No.")

* SeekingSanctuary: The foreign Antipholus and Dromio hide from there twins' angry friends and family inside an abbey, whose abbess guards them and prevents anyone from entering in to take them away.

* MistakenForInsane: By the end of Act IV, Adriana is so astonished by Antipholus behavior that she thinks a demon is driving him mad and hires an exorcist to cure him. They take him out of jail and confine him to his home for the exorcism.

* ChristianityIsCatholic: Anglican plays are like modern horror movies in that when you get an exorcist, you have to get a Catholic speaking Latin. The Anglican Church had abolished Latin Rites in favor for English ones, so the only clergy is only represented by a Roman Catholic in the play. This isn't necessarily flattering, though, since other characters call him a sorcerer, a fortune-teller, and a fraud.

* IntimidatingRevenueService: ExaggeratedTrope. Dromio that the time went from 2 PM to 1 PM after he talked to a tax collector because even time itself is afraid of having its debts collected.

* DrivenByEnvy: Adriana is so jealous about her husband's hypothetical mistress that she rationalizes his twin brother's total ignorance of her as an attempt cover up his affair. Luciana calls her out for this.

Egeon, 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, Egeon tells the Duke about his life before his arrest: He was married to a woman named Emilia, and together had twin boys. The new parents acquired a set of poor twins to serve as valets for when their children became adults (this was Shakespeare's own idea, not found in Plautus' ''Menaechmi''), but soon after the family was separated by a shipwreck. Egeon 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).

* ThemeTwinNaming: Twice.
* TitleDrop:
-->This purse of ducats I receiv'd from you,
-->And Dromio my man did bring them me:
-->I see we still did meet each other's man,
-->And I was ta'en for him, and he for me,
-->And thereupon these '''errors''' are arose.

* TwinSwitch: Frequently. The twins themselves have no idea what's going on or what anyone is talking about.

* ButtMonkey: Both Dromios. Each one is beaten whenever they run into the wrong Antipholus. Or when one Antipholus demands an update on a task he sent the other Dromio to do. Or when Adriana and her sister send him to fetch Antipholus and he gets the wrong one... or when Dromio of S meets Dromio of E's fiancee.

* NoodleIncident: Dromio is apparently jumped on by Nell and harassed in a scene we never see or get a lot of context for.. Shakespeare knew he couldn't top what the viewer was probably thinking. (The Karamozov Brothers do show her chasing Dromio around the set frequently--she's doublecast with the Duke.)

* IdenticalStranger: With the justification that while they are strangers to each other, the two Antipholuses and Dromios are actually twins.

* NoodleIncident: Nell again, who is never seen, only described briefly. Shakespeare knew he couldn't top what the viewer was probably thinking. (The Karamozov Brothers do show her chasing Dromio around the set frequently--she's doublecast with the Duke.)

* SeparatedAtBirth: The two sets of twins are parted during a storm at sea.

* [[HeWhoMustNotBeSeen She Who Must Not Be Seen]]: Nell from the kitchen again. (Not all productions adhere to this; in the Karamozov version she was given some lines of her own.)

* AlwaysIdenticalTwins: The cause of all the trouble, although ironically it's an InformedAttribute in most productions.

*** It may seem impossible, but a series of quick changes and a set made of doors can go a long way, making the final scene even more ridiculous and hilarious. See Sean Graney's production at The Court Theatre (2010)
*** At least one production used, essentially, character lookalike muppets for the final scene, along with prerecorded lines. It made the ending just that much more absurdly hilarious.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/comedy_of_errors_poster_e1433209519460.png]]

A comedy ([[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin of errors]]) by Creator/WilliamShakespeare, based off an even older play by Creator/{{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.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Oh, ''yes''.
-->'''A. of Syracuse:''' (discussing where countries are on the aforementioned Nell) Where stood Belgia, the Netherlands?
-->'''D. of Syracuse:''' Oh, sir, I did not look so low.
*** The Flying Karamzov Brothers version of this follows this line with everyone in the cast cheering "Author! Author!" And Shakespeare coming out and accepting a bouquet of flowers. [[https://youtu.be/dwYyrbX9LUY?t=56m Watch here]]

* YourCheatingHeart: Antipholus of E. decides to spend some time with a courtesan and give her the gold chain he promised Adriana to get back at her for locking him out while unknowingly dining with his twin.

* FatGirl: Nell.
-->'''A. of Syracuse:''' Then she bears some breadth?
-->'''D. of Syracuse:''' No longer from head to foot than from hip to hip: she is spherical, like a globe; I could find out countries in her.

* ButtMonkey: Both Dromios. Each one is beaten whenever they run into the wrong Antipholus. Or when one Antipholus demands an update on a task he sent the other Dromio to do. Or when Adriana and her sister send him to fetch Antipholus and he gets the wrong one... or when Dromio of S meets Dromio of C's fiancee.

Meanwhile, Antipholus and Dromio ''of Syracuse'' (this'll become important later) finally arrive in Ephesus. Antipholus sends his servant off to pay for a hotel, and then things get confusing. See, Antipholus and Dromio's brothers are 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 confusion continues 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.

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 (this was Shakespeare's own idea, not found in Plautus' ''Menaechmi''), 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).

* TooDumbToLive: in at least one production, for the benefit of the audience keeping track, the Syracusans wear green and the Ephesians wear blue. No one in the cast notices.

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 Creator/BetteMidler (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!''"

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

* [[HeWhoMustNotBeSeen She Who Must Not Be Seen]]: Nell from the kitchen again. (Not all productions adhere to this; in the Karamozov version she was given some lines of her own.)