SUU Theatre & Dance Opens Season with Shakespeare's "The Comedy of Errors"
Published: September 22, 2025 | Author: Kol Gibson | Read Time: 3 minutes
Southern Utah University’s Department of Theatre, Dance, and Arts Administration will kick off its 2025-26 Theatre & Dance Season, themed Re:Frame - reimagining classics and new perspectives, with William Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors , directed by Peter Sham. Performances will take place in the Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre on September 25, 27 & 29 and October 3 & 4, 2025, at 8:00 p.m. Audiences are encouraged to bring layers and blankets for the cool fall evenings in the outdoor theatre.
This year’s season opener is a fitting start to Re:Frame , offering a wildly inventive take on one of Shakespeare’s earliest and best-loved comedies. Inspired by The Looney Tunes and set in a neon-colored, cartoonish version of the 1980s, Sham reimagines the city of Ephesus as “half mall, half arcade, and all chaos.” With slapstick comedy, engaging storytelling, and visual flair, the production is especially geared toward younger audiences and visiting participants of the annual High School Shakespeare Competition, who will enjoy their own special performance of the production while on campus.
The Comedy of Errors is, at its core, a story of identity. It follows two sets of identical twins who were separated at birth. When fate brings both pairs into the same city, confusion and hilarity erupt, but beneath the gags lies a moving story of rediscovered family and the search for oneself in a disorienting world.
“This show is so timely for 2025,” said director Peter Sham. “We live in an era of information overload, glitchy online identities, and constant confusion over what’s real and what’s not. Like Shakespeare’s twins, we often feel disoriented–swiping through versions of ourselves and meeting strangers who act like they know us. With the rise of AI, deepfakes, and digital avatars, mistaken identity has never been more relevant. But in today’s noise and spin of modern life, laughter isn’t just entertainment—it’s survival, and Shakespeare understood that better than anyone.”
Tickets to The Comedy of Errors are $12 for adults, $10 for alumni, and $6 for youth and non-SUU students. As always, admission is FREE for SUU students, faculty, and staff with a valid SUU I.D. Tickets can be purchased at the Utah Shakespeare Festival Ticket Office up to 30 minutes before each performance or online at www.bard.org/tdaa .
About the College of Performing and Visual Arts
The College of Performing and Visual Arts (CPVA) at Southern Utah University comprises 41 academic programs including liberal arts (BA/BS) and professional (BFA, BM, BMEd) degrees in art, design, dance, filmmaking, music, and theatre. It includes graduate programs in the fields of arts administration (MFA, MA), music education (MME), and music technology (MM) . More than 60 full-time faculty and staff are engaged in teaching and mentoring over 900 majors in the College. CPVA presents over 100 performances, lectures, presentations, and exhibitions each year which are complemented by the Southern Utah Museum of Art (SUMA) and Shakespeare Studies at SUU, and is affiliated with the Tony award-winning Utah Shakespeare Festival (USF). Southern Utah University is an accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Art & Design (NASAD), National Association of Schools of Dance (NASD), National Association of Schools of Music (NASM), and the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST) making SUU the first public university in the state of Utah to be accredited by all four associations. For more information about the College of Performing and Visual Arts, visit www.suu.edu/pva .Tags: Theatre Theatre Arts and Dance Community College of Performing and Visual Arts Theatre Dance and Arts Administration
Contact Information:
Kol Gibson
435-865-8667
kolgibson@suu.edu