The Comedy of Errors

It may be Shakespeare's shortest play, but it's also his funniest. Identical twin boys, separated in infancy by a storm, are reunited as young adults, aided by their slaves, also identical twins. This Arkangel production is superb in bringing to life and laughter a bawdy, hilarious tale of mistaken identities and misadventures. Underlying the witty dialogue is an offbeat, bright, and bouncy musical score (piano and xylophone), punctuated by unexpected bursts of rib-tickling but authentic sound effects. Outstanding performances are given by David Tennant, Brendan Coyle, Jason O'Mara, and Alan Cox, but the kudos go to Helen Ryan, who portrays the wicked Abbess, a performance not to be missed. The Bard was never better. M.T.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

This production performed by the Shakespeare Recording Society (with special guests)--is excellent in its arena-like recording quality. Stereo potential is used to its fullest--one character speaks on your left, and another seems to respond from somewhere on the far right. You get the sense that you're actually in a theater. The technique works especially well in this play because of its many street scenes and tricky character switches. For example, many times the only way listeners can hear the difference between Dromio of Ephesus (played by Bernard Bresslaw) and Dromio of Syracuse (Harry H. Corbett) is the very slight alteration in the depth of the recording. Of course, an expert in vocal patterns might be able to discern Bresslaw's voice from Corbett's, but, given their fantastic, churlish cockney--and the fact that they're trying to sound alike--it's not as easy for the rest of us. R.A.P. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine