William Shakespeare’s magical play ‘The Comedy Of Errors’ starts in Ephesus with a death sentence on the aged Syracusan merchant, Aegeon, whose family had been separated many years earlier in a shipwreck. During the shipwreck his wife, Aemilia and one of his twin sons (both named Antipholus) had been swept away.

Although the towns of Syracuse and Ephesus are at war, all of Aegeon’s family, unbeknownst to each other, are now living in Ephesus. The possibilities for confusion are increased by the presence of the two Dromios, twin servants of the twins Antipholus. (The lost Antipholus has since married and lives in the town).

The Bard exploits the comic possibilities of mistaken identity with a dazzling series of farcical maneuvers that include a jealous wife, her moralising sister, a befuddled courtesan, and a schoolmaster wizard who proffer a religious cure for the city’s madness. And around all the comic mayhem, Shakespeare weaves the grand themes of loss and recovery, of separation and reconciliation.

As part of its 2010 Education program, the Sydney Theatre Company has mounted a fresh production of Shakespeare’s classic farce with Charmian Gradwell in the director’s chair.

Gradwell comes up with a breakneck, hilarious ninety minutes of theatre performed by the exuberant energy of the Sydney Theatre Company’s own in-house acting troupe, the Residents, comprising Alice Ansara, Cameron Goodall, Ursula Mills, Julia Ohannessian, Zindzi Okenyo, Richard Pyros, Sophie Ross, Tahki Saul, and Brett Stiller.

Matthew Stegh’s design, with its city made from cardboard and its constantly changing graffiti, reflected the transient nature of life. Mikey Lira’s soundscape had a rich Latin American beat to it.

Charmian Gradwell’s bright, effusive production of ‘The Comedy Of Errors’ plays Wharf 2 at the Sydney Theatre Company until Friday August 27, 2010.