a (Young) Company of Fools
The Comedy of Errors

Welcome to Space Station Ephesus! 
A trade war between Syracuse and Ephesus means that Egeon, a merchant of Syracuse has been detained and is facing the death penalty - I know! Space travel is dangerous!

Egeon recounts the story of how many years ago on a voyage through the stars, he and his wife Emilia were separated when the ship they were travelling on - with their twin babies (both named Antipholus) and two other babies (the Dromios) who they were bringing up to be companions to their kids - suffered a rapid unscheduled disassembly. Egeon took one of each child and escaped in a pod. Emilia took the other Antipholus and Dromio and escaped in another pod. Because space is so mind-bogglingly big the couple and the kids were never reunited.

Years later Antipholus and Dromio of Syracuse left Egeon and went in search of their long lost twins. Egeon, ever the worrier, went after them. Funnily enough, everybody is now aboard the same space station. Antipholus and Dromio of Syracuse are perplexed to discover that everybody knows them and calls them by name. Antipholus of Syracuse is amazed to discover that he has a wife, Adrianna! Although he is much more attracted to her sister Luciana.

Meanwhile Antipholus of Ephesus finds himself locked out of his own quarters on the space station! And Dromio of Ephesus has been replaced by someone using his name.

Shenanigans abound!  Gold credits go missing! Expensive jewelry goes missing! Rope gets bought! Doctor Pinch diagnosis madness! Who will untangle all this mess? Enter the Abbess, who is actually the long lost Emilia, Egeon's wife. Everything gets straightened out, the credits, the jewelry, who is married to whom, (and who can marry whom) and balance is at last returned to the galaxy!

May the farce be with us, always.

"Every why hath a wherefore." Back in the spring of 2024 the Artistic Director of Ottawa Children's Theatre, Nick Miller, and I met to talk about ways our two companies could work together. We knew we wanted to provide educational programming for young people in our city, as well as create opportunities for emerging and established theatre artists to work together. And thus, a (Young) Company of Fools was born!

No one gets into theatre because they like to work alone: theatre artists crave collaboration. Just as in music, the real joy of theatre comes from making it with other people. Collaboratively, these student actors have worked towards building a better understanding of Shakespeare's stories over the past several months, while still maintaining the rhythms, intentions, and richness of the source material. This course has been especially designed for students with previous experience who are ready to explore why Shakespeare's work remains popular, and how to bring these well-known stories to life in exciting and dynamic ways. Guided by professional artists from a Company of Fools these students have now experienced the adaptation process from creation to production. 

Instructors and co-directors Cara Pantalone and Geoff McBride have worked tirelessly with the students since September to adapt Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors. Not only have they adapted the play into a cool 45 minutes, but the students also decided collectively to stage it in space. That's right: outer space. It is one thing to put on a play as-written, but another thing entirely to infuse comedy and originality into an existing play, turning it into something that feels new and fresh.

I have had the privilege of being in the rehearsal room over the past several months working with the student actors and watching the fantastic work of their co-directors - both Cara and Geoff are Fools’ alum and in-demand artists. Along with award-winning Fools' Designer-in-Residence Vanessa Imeson, who guided students through puppet making and making their own costumes, this professional team of artists has had a fruitful collaboration with this young company.

On behalf of a Company of Fools, I welcome you to the first-ever a (Young) Company of Fools’ performance of The Comedy of Errors! I hope that you enjoy the show, and that it inspires you and your family to join us at our professional (AKA "Old") company in the park this summer to see our Super Mario-themed interpretation. "And now let’s go hand in hand, not one before another."

- Kate Smith, Artistic Director