The Twin Who Came from Abroad: The Comedy of Errors and Transcultural Adaptation. (2nd January 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Schwanebeck, Wieland
• Is Part Of: Shakespeare. Volume 16:Number 1(2020)
• Page Start: 90
• Page End: 99
• Publication Date: 2020-01-02
• Subjects: Shakespeare -- Angoor -- twinship -- appropriation -- originality; Periodicals; 822.33
• DOI: 10.1080/17450918.2019.1636854
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1745-0918

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This article traces some of the adaptation history of Shakespeare's twin farce, The Comedy of Errors . The play highlights some of the paradoxes inherent in Shakespeare's status in the field of adaptation, as it is often perceived as a rather derivative effort. By delivering a more detailed reading of Angoor (1982), Gulzar's film adaptation of the play, I want to argue for the significance of transcultural adaptations when it comes to upending some of the established hierarchies inherent in adaptation studies. Moreover, the chapter highlights the theme of dubious births and the problem of primogeniture to conceptualize adaptation itself as a form of twinship.