PIQUA — The Edison Stagelight Players will present William Shakespeare’s “The Comedy of Errors” directed by Matt Beisner. Performances will be held Oct. 25 through Nov. 3 in the Robinson Theater at Edison State Community College’s Piqua Campus.
Separated in infancy, two pairs of twins are now in the same city, each unaware of the presence of their long-lost counterparts. Hilarity mounts as the look-alikes are repeatedly mistaken for each other. Widely regarded as Shakespeare’s earliest work, “The Comedy of Errors” is the closest thing to a modern era sitcom written by the bard.
According to Director Matt Beisner, the timing was right for this comedic play. “We decided to do ‘The Comedy of Errors’ simply because it’s so much fun. It’s easily the silliest play Shakespeare ever wrote. Last season, we had the tagline ‘A season of Poe and Woe.’ Both our fall and spring plays were dark and tragic. This year we wanted to start the year with something as far from that as possible.”
“This play is hilarious! The plot of ‘The Comedy of Errors’ very much resembles a modern-day sitcom featuring two sets of twins along with multiple instances of mistaken identity. The audience can expect to experience something that requires minimal thinking. All you need to do is be prepared to laugh, and you will certainly have a great time.”
Beisner is taking a more relaxed approach to directing “The Comedy of Errors.” “As the director, I’ve told my actors that there are no rules. They have my permission to be as silly and ridiculous as they want, and I will ‘pull them back’ if I need to. This freedom permits the actors to find as much comedy as they can. So far, it is working out perfectly.”
The cast and crew will feature many returning Stagelight Players, with the addition of a few new faces. “It’s very exciting to constantly expand our Edison Stagelight family.”
Performances will be held Friday, Oct. 25; Saturday, Oct. 26; Friday, Nov. 1; Saturday, Nov. 2, at 7:30 p.m. each night. A matinee performance will be held on Sunday, Nov. 3, at 3:00 p.m.
Tickets for the show are $7 for adults, $5 for students, and $3 for seniors and are available for purchase with cash at the door. Children under five are not permitted into the theater during the performance. For more information, call 937-778-8600.
