Al fresco Shakespeare is full of promise and equally full of likely  complications. There is the prospect of seeing a play freshly in the open air, and the delight of unimpeded leg room, picnics and a generally relaxed time of it. On the other hand there are bound to be encounters with the devils of sound technology, the necessity of bolder playing than many actors have experienced onstage and of course, the weather.

The weather, the picnics and the leg room at Mona Vale were all that could be desired and contributed hugely to a couple of hours well spent in the company of an energetic ensemble, whose extraordinary wigs made all things thereafter seem possible.

The main entertainment value of the play comes from inevitable complications following the unwitting presence in one town of identical male twins, parted from birth. Their servants are also identical twins and within the frame of restoring his freedom to their condemned father, there are subplots of dazzling ingenuity. Every character it seems mistakes identities and situations; every character is, along with the audience trying to hold on to a very slippery  thread of  logic.

Programme notes signal a ‘fast-paced, slick production,’ but the wide playing area, lack of focus in stage groupings and some uneven playing abilities add up to something less. Many of the scenes in the public square, for example have a distracting array of busy situations set around the main action and although good intentions can be read, tension and real pace, which has nothing to do with speed, are lost along with the hoped for lightness of tone.

On the positive side several experienced players turn in lively  characters. The Antipholus  pair (Charles Grubb and Dan Crossen ) have a fine time of it, as do Annette Thomson as a dynamic Adriana. They have the advantage of roles with a clear set of circumstances and enough lines to build recognisable presence. For the Dromios,  played by two young girls (Nikki Bleyendaal and Paige Delaney) the going is harder in spite of their valiant antics.

The play is short and on a good evening the problems outlined above do not seem to matter very much. If fairytale colours bobbing around on a green sward and some relentless glee appeal, hie thee to Mona Vale. Life will seem very straightforward  next day.

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