Mercury Theatre announces full cast for William Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors in celebration of our 50th anniversary season

The cast of the comedy of errors appear in front of the titles on a vibrant blue background willed with martini glasses and confetti

Mercury Theatre today announces the full cast for William Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors in celebration of their 50th Anniversary. Creative Director Ryan McBryde directs real life twins Danielle Bird and Nichole Bird as Dromio of Syracuse and Dromio of Ephesus, alongside Daniel Burke (Antipholus of Syracuse), Jessica Dives (Emilia/Nell), Rosalind Ford (Adriana/Balthazar), Lucy Keirl (Luciana/Nestor/Officer), Michael Lambourne (Egeon/Angelo/Dr Pinch), Mike Slader (Antipholus of Ephesus) and Aaliyah Zhane (Duke Solinus/Calypso). The production opens on 18 May with a special gala event in celebration of the Mercury Theatre’s golden anniversary, with previews from 13 May, and runs until 28 May.

Creative Director Ryan McBryde says today “It’s really exciting to be able to announce a cast for The Comedy of Errors that features an actual pair of twins alongside our hugely talented players for the Bard’s very own madcap comedy! Rehearsals start next month and we’re really looking forward to creating a production set in the Golden Jazz Age, taking influences from Grand Budapest Hotel and Great Gatsby. The show will celebrate our 50th anniversary and will feature a brilliant score of vintage pop tracks arranged by our fabulous Musical Director Jess Dives.”

 

Mercury Theatre presents

THE COMEDY OF ERRORS

By William Shakespeare

Director: Ryan McBryde; Assistant Director:  Michael Cottrell; Designer: James Button;

Lighting Designer: Ben Cracknell; Sound Designer: Ella Wahlström; Musical Director: Jessica Dives;

Movement Director: Michaela Meazza; Fight Director: Haruka Kuroda;

Casting Director: Marc Frankum

 

13 – 28 May 2022

Press Night: Wednesday 18 May at 7.30pm

 

In Shakespeare’s screwball comedy, two sets of twins separated at birth unwittingly find themselves in the same city on the same day, leading to a string of mistaken identities and chaotic mishaps.

Set at the decadent Hotel Esphesus in the roaring 20s, our wild, whirling production of the bard’s first and funniest farce is packed to the rafters with puns, slapstick and gags galore.

 

Danielle Bird plays Dromio of Syracuse. Her theatre credits include Beauty and the Beast (New Vic Theatre), The Comedy of Errors (Storyhouse Theatre), The Prince and The Pauper (New Victoria Theatre / Unicorn Theatre), The Worst Witch (Vaudeville Theatre), Astley’s Astounding Adventures (New Vic Theatre), Aladdin (Theatre Royal Wakefield), The Hypocrite (RSC), Macbeth (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (Birmingham Rep), Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Othello, Cyrano de Bergerac (Grosvenor Open Air Theatre),The Princess and the Pea (York Theatre Royal), Father Christmas and the Icicle Bicycle, Tea Time (Oxford Playhouse), Colin Hoult’s Real Horror Show (Leicester Square Theatre), No Ball Games (New Wolsey Theatre), Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet (Young Shakespeare Company). Her television credits include Hapless, Vengeance, The Investigator, The Wives Did It, The Double Life of Morton Coyle; and for film, Now You See Me 2 and A Running Jump.

Nichole Bird plays Dromio of Ephesus. Her theatre credits include The Comedy of Errors, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Cyrano de Bergerac, Othello (Storyhouse Theatre), The Prince and The Pauper (New Vic Theatre/Unicorn Theatre), The Dutch Lady, Look About You, The Wits (Shakespeare’s Globe), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Immersion Theatre), Love’s Victory (Urania Theatre), Peter Pan, Cinderella (Theatre Royal Winchester), James and the Giant Peach (Selladoor), The Woman Before (Soho Theatre), As You Like It (Principal Theatre Company), Alice’s Adventures Underground (Les Enfants Terribles) and The Rakes Progress (Complicité). Her television credits include The Wives Did It, The Tree Fairy, The Double Life of Morton Coyle; and for film, Zoe and Now You See Me 2.

Daniel Burke plays Antipholus of Syracuse. His theatre credits include Imperium Part I: Conspirator, Imperium Part II: Dictator (RSC/Gielgud Theatre), Troilus and Cressida (RSC), Romeo and Juliet, Richard III (Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre), If and When (Soho Theatre), Bang Bang! (Northcott Theatre/UK tour), Switzerland (English Theatre Frankfurt), She Stoops to Conquer and Hamlet (Guildford Shakespeare Company). His television credits include The Witcher.

Jessica Dives plays Emilia/Nell. Her theatre credits include Pride and Prejudice, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Comedy of Errors (Storyhouse/Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre), A Christmas Carol (Storyhouse), The Ballad of Maria Marten (Stephen Joseph Theatre), Twelfth Night, Henry V, The Borrowers (Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre), Guess How Much I Love You (Selladoor), The Lost Ones (Bush Theatre/Theatre Royal Stratford East), Skelling (Tin Robot Theatre), Newsrevue (Canal Café Theatre), Hamlet, Macbeth (Young Shakespeare Company) and Little Red Riding Hood (Liverpool Everyman). Her MD credits include Twice Nightly (Frame This Theatre), Spirit Box (Mercury Theatre/Pleasance Theatre), The Merry Wives of Windsor (Storyhouse) and The Comedy of Errors (Stephen Joseph Theatre).

Rosalind Ford plays Adriana/Balthazar. Her theatre credits include Hamlet (Guildford Shakespeare Company), Gin Craze! (Royal and Derngate Northampton), Once, Metta’s Little Mermaid (UK tour), David Copperfield, And The World Goes Around, Daddy Long Legs, Just So (Barn Theatre), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Mother Courage and Her Children, (Southwark Playhouse), Oranges and Elephants (Hoxton Hall), and These Trees Are Made of Blood (Arcola Theatre).

Lucy Keirl plays Luciana/Nestor/Officer. Her theatre credits include The Great Murder Mystery (The Lost Estate), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth (UK tour/The Watermill Theatre), The Hired Man, The Crucible (UK tour), The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing, Swallows and Amazons (Storyhouse Theatre/Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre), A Little Night Music, Frankenstein and Romeo and Juliet (The Watermill Theatre).

Michael Lambourne plays Egeon/Angelo/Dr Pinch. His theatre credits include Stranger Things (Secret Cinema), Great Expectations (Derby Theatre), The Railway Children, The Legend of King Arthur, Two Planks and a Passion, My Family and Other Animals, The Wind in the Willows, See How They Run (York Theatre Royal), Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella (Hull Truck), Fungus the Bogeyman, The Twits (Pilot Theatre), Pinocchio (The Dukes Theatre), Thieves Carnival (The Watermill Theatre), The Latke who Couldn’t Stop Screaming, The Gruffalo (Tall Stories), The Tempest (The Flanagan Collective), Goldilocks (Georgian Theatre), Alice in Wonderland (Library Theatre) and Grimms Fairy Tales (Unity Theatre). His television credits include In The Dark, Ye Olde Dragons Den and Chucklevision; and for film, Cashback.

Mike Slader plays Antipholus of Ephesus. His theatre credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth (Wilton’s Music Hall), Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet (The Watermill Theatre), Red Riding Hood, Dick Whittington (Leeds City Varieties Music Hall), Robin Hood, Aladdin (Stafford Gatehouse), Dreamboats and Petticoats, Dreamboats and Miniskirts (UK tour), Frankenstein (Salisbury Playhouse), Delirium Show 6 (St James Theatre), Tiny Tempest (Brighton Dome), Close (Cockpit Theatre), Ovid’s Metamorphoses (Pleasance Dome), Grimethorpe Race (Arcola Theatre), The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe and Dr Faustus (Chichester Festival Theatre). His film credits include Eight and Cruizer.

Aaliyah Zhane makes her professional stage debut in the role of Duke Solinus/Calypso.

 

Ryan McBryde is the Creative Director of Mercury Theatre. His productions for the Mercury include Aladdin, Baskerville, Oliver!, Moll Flanders and Pieces of String (the latter was nominated for UK Theatre Award for Best Musical Production and won Best New Musical at the Stage Debut Awards). Other recent credits include Romeo and Juliet (Theatre Trier, Germany), Faust, 1984 (Alte Schauspielhaus Stuttgart), Love on the Links, Before the Party, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Aladdin, Jack and the Beanstalk (Salisbury Playhouse), The Invisible Man (Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch), Saturday Night Fever, Angus, Thongs and Even More Snogging (West Yorkshire Playhouse), The Who’s Tommy (European tour), A Day at the Racists (Finborough Theatre/Barking Broadway), The House of Mirrors and Hearts (Arcola Theatre), Lia’s Guide to Winning the Lottery (Bridewell Theatre), and Terie Vigen (Royal Concert Hall).

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