One of the earliest of Shakespeare's plays, The Comedy of Errors is a brief and genuinely farcical comedy, filled with knockabout humour, and the havoc wrought by mistaken identity.

The play tells the story of two sets of identical twins, accidentally separated at birth. Antipholus and his servant, Dromio, both of Syracuse, arrive in Ephesus, where they encounter their twin brothers, Antipholus and his servant, Dromio, of Ephesus. When the Syracusan strangers meet the friends and families of their twins, they are subject to unjust beatings, a near-seduction, and arrest, as well as accusations of infidelity, theft, madness, and possession by demons.

As well as the play itself, this edition contains:

• An extended introduction that looks at the play's history, its structure, and characters
• A glossary of words and terms
• Notes on the text
• A timeline of William Shakespeare's life and work