''The Venetian Twins'' ( it, I due gemelli veneziani, links=no, or "The two Venetian twins") is a 1747 play by

Carlo Goldoni Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to: * Carlo (name) * Monte Carlo * Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia *A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince ...

, based on

Plautus Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the ...

's ''

Menaechmi ''Menaechmi'', a Latin-language play, is often considered Plautus' greatest play. The title is sometimes translated as ''The Brothers Menaechmus'' or ''The Two Menaechmuses''. The ''Menaechmi'' is a comedy about mistaken identity, involving a se ...

''. It was performed by Il Teatro Stabile of Genoa at the 1965

Edinburgh International Festival The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially european classical music, classical music) and ...

, directed by Luigi Squarzina and starring the celebrated Italian actor

Alberto Lionello Alberto Lionello (12 July 1930 – 14 July 1994) was an Italian film actor, voice actor, singer and presenter. Life and career Born in Milan into a family of Venetian origins, after studying acting at the Accademia dei Filodrammatici Lione ...

as the two twins. More recent productions include one at the

Watermill Theatre The Watermill Theatre is a repertory theatre in Bagnor, Berkshire. It opened in 1967 in Bagnor Mill, a converted watermill on the River Lambourn. As a producing house, the theatre has produced works that have subsequently moved on to the West E ...

and a 1993 production directed by

Michael Bogdanov Michael Bogdanov (15 December 1938 – 16 April 2017) was a British theatre director known for his work with new plays, modern reinterpretations of Shakespeare, musicals and work for young people. Early years Bogdanov was born Michael Bogd ...

for the Royal Shakespeare Company. The play has also been adapted and staged as a 1979 Australian two-act musical comedy. The play was performed by Greene Shoots Theatre at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival at C Venues (main) in August 2010.

Shakespeare & Company (Massachusetts) Shakespeare & Company is an American theatre company located in Lenox, Massachusetts in the Berkshire region of western Massachusetts. It was founded in 1978 by artistic director Tina Packer, who stepped down in 2009. Allyn Burrows is the curr ...

presented the play in English as part of its outdoor Bankside Festival, June 29-August 27, 2011, at Lenox, Massachusetts.

Main roles

*Dr Balanzoni, a lawyer from Bologna in Verona *Rosaura, believed to be his daughter, later revealed as the sister of the twins *Pancrazio, friend of the doctor *Zanetto, twin brother of Tonino *Tonino, twin brother of Zanetto *Lelio, the doctor's nephew *Beatrice, Tonino's lover *Florindo, Tonino's friend *Brighella, servant in the doctor's house *Colombina, servant in the doctor's house *Arlecchino, servant of Zanetto *Tiburzio, goldsmith *Bargello

References

1747 plays Plays by Carlo Goldoni Plays based on works by Plautus Works based on Menaechmi {{1740s-play-stub