Intermission Youth Theatre are back with another remixed Shakespeare, and for the first time, this year’s reimagined classic will be directed by one of their own graduates, Stephanie Badaru. Comedy of Errors Remixed tackles themes of identity, immigration and displacement, using the characters to explore and address a topic currently dominating headlines and social media.
Set in London, this remix of Shakespeare’s classic farce follows two asylum seekers as they arrive in the UK having escaped from conflict in their home country. We see them struggle to assimilate as they navigate language barriers, prejudice and mistaken identity, eventually reconnecting with their long lost twins who immigrated to the UK after escaping a civil war 20 years earlier. Updated for this production, the original narrative of Comedy of Errors stands the test of time, highlighting the impact displacement can have on your identity, relationships and life experience.
Forced from their native home of “Shakespeare”, Anthony and Dominique seek asylum in the UK. Unbeknownst to them, their identical twins who they believed to have been killed in civil war twenty years earlier, are also residing in the UK and to confuse matters further, both sets of twins share the same name. Only speaking Shakespearean, the twins are quickly mistaken for their London twins who speak only Street, causing chaos. Comedy of Errors Remixed is a hilarious reimagining of Comedy of Errors.
Intermission Youth helps to transform the lives of young people living in London through drama, film, and whole-person support. Since 2008, IY have engaged with over 8,000 young people to improve their mental health, social skills, life outcomes and outlook on their ambitions. As part of this mission, the organisation runs a 10-month programme for 16-25 year olds as an accessible alternative to drama school, who form the cast for each years’ production. The themes in Comedy of Errors Remixed resonate deeply with so many of the current cohort, whose lives and families have been negatively impacted by the climate and policies around immigration.
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