About the work
Shakespeare's shortest comedy was likely written around 1594. Its first recorded performance took place on 28 December 1594 in Gray's Inn Hall in London during the law school's winter festivities, an evening remembered as the "Night of Errors" because of the chaos in the overcrowded hall. The play was first printed in the First Folio of 1623. Shakespeare drew on Plautus's ancient comedies "Menaechmi" and, in part, "Amphitruo".
Plot
The merchant Egeon of Syracuse finds himself in mortal danger in Ephesus while searching for the twin son he lost in a shipwreck years earlier. Unknown to him, both twins are named Antipholus, as are their equally separated twin servants, both named Dromio. When the Syracusan Antipholus and his servant happen to arrive in Ephesus, where the other Antipholus lives, mistaken identities multiply between masters, servants, a wife and a fiancée until the confusion is resolved and the family reunited.
Cultural significance
The play displays Shakespeare's early command of ancient mistaken-identity comedy and is considered especially tightly constructed. It has been adapted several times, including as the basis for the Broadway musical "The Boys from Syracuse".