If you were lucky enough to get the opportunity to watch Ad Lib’s production of ‘Hamlet’ last year, you would already be aware that this is a theatre company that like to mix things up and do things differently and once again, this was outdoor theatre at its finest.

The weather was perfect and the sell out audience gathered with their picnics and prosecco, creating a relaxing atmosphere.

The Comedy of Errors – Shakespeare’s shortest play. A tale of two sets of identical twins seperated in infancy in a shipwreck. When one set of twins goes searching for the other, it causes a farce in which identities are mistaken.

When Antipholus of Syracuse and his servant Dromio wind up on the shores of the Grecian city of Ephesus, everyone knows their names and they suddenly find themselves with wives, lovers and gold – but they have no idea why.

Meanwhile, Antipholus of Ephesus and his servant Dromio, suddenly find themselves in hot water with women, merchants and the law – but they have no idea why.

The whole cast got stuck in straight away, literally becoming the body of the ship, which was a great added feature and helped the audience understand the plot.

After taking on the HUGE role of Hamlet last year, the audience knew they were in for a treat on reading that Emily Scotcher would be playing the role of Antipholus of Syracuse (Twin of Antipholus of Ephesus) and once again Emily did not disappoint. Emily has mastered a skill where she captivates the audience and makes you watch her every move – even when she isn’t speaking.

Philip Barker really made the role of Antipholus of Ephesus (Twin of Antipholus of Syracuse) his own and would give Rowan Atkinson a run for his money with his similar characteristics and comedy skills. Philip was a real pleasure to watch perform.

Joel Leverton (Dromio of Syracuse) literally lifted each scene – a clear natural on the stage as his performance felt simply effortless to watch. Joel managed to get a laugh after nearly every sentence – a rare skill. During the well choreographed fight sequence, Joel even managed to get a laugh as he suffered a wardrobe malfunction.

Another highlight was watching Patrick Barry bring Dromio of Ephesus to life. Patrick brought some true slapstick style comedy moments to his scenes and in particular, showed off his ‘on point’ comedic timing, as the church bells chimed – which resulted in a huge eruption of laughter from the audience.

Joanna Adams needs to be commended for stepping into the role of Adriana (Wife of Antipholus of Ephesus) extremely last minute – It’s a challenge to take on such a major role with confidence and an even bigger task to get the audience to forget you have a ‘script’ in your hand and Joanna ticked both of those boxes.

Bryony Bishop’s confident and playful portrayal of Luciana (Adriana’s unmarried sister) brought some extra dynamic to the scenes. Bryony also demonstrated great comedic timing. In particular, the scene where Luciana is seduced by Antipholus of Syracuse (Emily) was a real highlight and got a well deserved laugh from the audience, when Bryony got showered with gifts.

Other smaller roles were delivered with humour by skilled performer Paul Stevens (Duke of Ephesus) – who even when forgetting a line, managed to secure a huge laugh from the audience, showing his level of experience. Tom Ferguson (Merchant) had the clearest diction of the evening and great stage presence and Betsy Franklin must also be praised for her confident portrayl of Angelo.

Anita Davies, Fiz Bates, Chris Hicks, and Bianca Flanders all complimented the production well in their smaller roles, alongside Andrew Wilson Jenner as Doctor Pinch – (who literally came in with a bang!)

All of the cast looked like they were having the best time and it was clear that a lot of hard work had gone into the rehearsals.

Special mention must go to joint directors Si Lynch and Maureen Sullivan – who also took on smaller comedy cameo parts too.

Overall, Shakespeare may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but the aim of Ad Lib’s productions is to make theatre more accessible and fun for all to enjoy and they certainly did just that. One member of the audience was overheard stating that after watching this, it made a bit of a rubbish day much better – what a compliment to the cast and crew.

There are two more chances to see Ad Lib’s production of The Comedy of Errors and you’d be a real fool to miss it.

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Reviewed by Rosie Sales