A scene from The Boys From Syracuse at the Union Theatre, London. Picture: Darren Bell
The Boys From Syracuse continues at the Union Theatre, London until 26 October.
The Comedy of Errors is Shakespeare’s shortest, and most farcical, of plays. So it’s maybe no surprise that, in 1938, it became the first of the Bard’s works to be subsumed by the behemoth of the Broadway musical theatre machine. However, despite the Union Theatre offering a spirited production, one can’t quite disguise the plot is paper-thin, even by musical standards.
As with the source material, the play’s comedy hinges on the premise of two pairs of identical twins – two noblemen, both called Antipholus, and each’s manservant, both called Dromio – frequently getting confused for each other. More than with any other production, getting the casting correct is vital here: as an audience, we must buy into how easy it is for the townsfolk of Ephesus – even those that know ‘their’ twins intimately – to mistake the Syracuse brothers for their native counterparts. Unfortunately, while Matthew Cavendish and Alan McHale have enough similarity to pass as the brothers Dromio while retaining a strong sense of individuality, the Antipholus brothers, Aaron Hayes Rogers and Oliver Seymour-Marsh, are so disparate in physical stature and performance style that one is left with the impression that what Ephesus needs is a decent optician.
But while there is a disparity of appearance in the twins, there is consistency across the board in terms of strong vocal performances. With a score including the romantic standards ‘Falling in Love With Love’ and the more comedic ‘This Can’t Be Love’, it is good to see the predominantly young cast – many of whom have graduated within the last couple of years – deliver Rodgers and Hart’s numbers with such strength and passion. Unfortunately, elsewhere the staging fails to match the high standards of the vocals. Mark Smith’s exaggerated choreography often feels too large for the Union’s small floorspace. In combination with Ben De Wynter’s similar approach to direction, the unfortunate effect is reminiscent of a high quality, but overplayed, student production.
In its 75th anniversary year, The Boys from Syracuse shows its age somewhat, and this production, while solid and not unenjoyable, does nothing to counter that. On the other hand, its strengths lie with a cast that are mostly at the start of their musical theatre careers, and their performances here suggest that there are better things to come.
Scott Matthewman
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