This year the Maynardville Open Air Theatre is transformed into a colourful and comical Chinese village, filled with kung fu fighters, merchants, bright yellow adidas track suits, a lumbering panda and a big Mama. The production is styled in the fashion of 1970’s Hong Kong Kung Fu movies, including over the top sound effects and fight sequences with hilarious effect.

One of the old bard’s earliest and shortest works, “Comedy of Errors” could not have been better named. If one set of twins running amuck in town could cause mayhem, imagine what two would do… Set in the city of Ephesus, a Syracusan merchant is captured while searching for one of his twin sons and twin servants, lost at sea many years ago. Unknown to him, of course, the lost set of twins (Antipholus and Dromio) have grown up in Ephesus, while the second set (also named Antipholus and Dromio) have just arrived in the city in search of their lost brothers. Countless cases of mistaken identity abound for both sets of the twins, causing much confusion for the characters, and a lot of laughter for the audience.

The entire cast delivers strong performances, particularly Sonia Esguiera as Antipholus’ wife Adriana, and Nicholas Pauling and Andrew Laubscher as Antipholus, however Rob van Vureen does steal the show with his very energetic portrayal of Dromio of Syracuse.

Have you seen Comedy of Errors? Post your comments below.