About the Show

A free production of Shakespeare's comedy about two sets of twins mistaken for each other.

Mistaken identity leads to delightful mayhem in the Bard’s classic play about two sets of twins separated by stormy seas. When one pair dares to trespass into a foreign city to find the other, the comedy of errors begins and the long-lost brothers must overcome wrongful imprisonment, angry wives, and hilarious confusion on their journey to a joyful reunion.

The Public’s Mobile Unit is a reinvention of Joseph Papp’s Mobile Shakespeare based on the idea that Shakespeare belongs to everyone. The Mobile Unit presents free Shakespeare to prisons, homeless shelters, centers for the elderly, and other community venues throughout the five boroughs.

Critic Reviews (16)

"4/5 Stars! Fast, funny and free in both spirit and price...would be a tragedy to miss."
Read more

felt like a scrappy troupe of traveling troubadours
Read more

"...a fun, frothy, toe-tapping, head-bobbing summer entertainment."
Read more

For a previous production

"Contemporary flourishes are never allowed to obstruct the unimpeded forward movement of a comedy built for speed, or the larger theme of identities lost and found…The bawdy puns, the elaborate explication of intricate back stories: These familiar staples of any 'Comedy of Errors' are rendered here with clarifying physical and musical annotations. What’s more surprising is how moving the production becomes when the play’s titular errors begin to correct themselves."
Read more

For a previous production

"The performances vary in quality, and the comedic bits occasionally become too exaggerated, but its rough, rowdy and youthful tone is a testament to the accessibility promoted by this worthy enterprise."
Read more

For a previous production

"Simultaneously urgent and irreverent new production…Under Kwei-Armah's limber and unpretentious direction, the contrivance of the plot really works…By setting 'The Comedy of Errors' on the U.S.-Mexican border, Kwei-Armah brings the themes of this 421-year-old play into stark relief: political boundaries and regional disparity are still with us."
Read more

For a previous production

"Simultaneously heartfelt and irreverent, it unpacks one of Shakespeare’s most ludicrous comedies with joyous music, big performances, and more than a few cherished Latin American tropes."
Read more

For a previous production

"The production is built for speed, not necessarily style, which is just fine in this instance...This isn't broccoli culture, good for you but fatally dull and lacking in zest; it's classical theatre made urgent and contemporary, a celebration of communal enjoyment."
Read more

Trailer

Creative team

Director / Choreographer