Both Antipholuses in A Comedy of Errors.

Folger’s The Comedy of Errors plays out like a symphony of slapstick.

Whether the characters are walking into walls, opening and shutting doors while just missing each others’ entrances, or pantomiming exaggerated sexual encounters, Aaron Posner’s deft production milks every moment for laughs.

The show invokes comparisons to everything from Noises Off to Waiting For Guffman; the latter comes to mind on account of the meta concept Posner has for the production: that a historic English theater company called the Worcestershire Mask & Wing Society is staging the show as part of a comeback tour. A ten-minute mocumentary-style video from the “troupe,” led by director “Timothy Tushingham” (Darragh Kennan, who will go on to play Antipholus of Ephesus) opens the show, and while you might be prepared to greet the high concept with an eye roll, the cast’s deadpan delivery and embrace of the ridiculous will soon have you sold on the idea.

Speaking of masks, each character wears one. Aaron Cromie handled mask and puppet design, and the masks have an creepy, melty, realistic look to them. One might think the extra layer of deceit would further confuse the issue in a play about mistaken identity, but the disguises have an added bonus: the fact that two actors who look nothing alike can play twins a little more convincingly. The Comedy of Errors, for the unfamiliar, involves two sets of twins: brothers separated at birth, along with their loyal servants. In a bit of fuzzy logic, both sets of twins each have the same name (because you know, why wouldn’t they?), adding an additional layer of confusion as wives, policemen, barmaids and even the occasional nun proceeds with no idea they’re dealing with anyone beyond who they expect, even as the behavior of their presumed husbands/acquaintances/debtors gets more and more inexplicable.