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Timon of Athens ~ Shakespeare Theatre Company

Jordan Wright
February 26, 2020 

You’d think by now Shakespeare’s plays would have taught society a few basic life lessons.  Be nice, don’t let your ego get the better of you, love madly, and don’t trust a drunk.  Take Timon of Athens – a wealthy aristocrat whose “friends” (and I use that word loosely) trade shallow compliments for lavish gifts and sumptuous dinners.  He who has the gold, rules and all that rot.  Amirite?  In this rarely produced play written with Thomas Middleton we can see that present-day sycophants have a lot in common with Jacobean sycophants.  What sets them apart is Timon’s plan to exact revenge on her coterie of parasitic predators.

Kathryn Hunter as Timon of Athens. Photo by Henry Grossman.

In Artistic Director Simon Godwin’s directorial debut at STC, we can see just how exciting and radical his approach will be.  His unusual choice of a female actor for the role of Timon and his mind-bending choices for the 2020-2021 season, bode well for STC audiences.  Kathryn Hunter (Timon) has made her reputation predominantly in England and so has Godwin as Associate Director of the National Theatre of London, the Royal Court Theatre and Bristol Old Vic.  It was at the Royal Court Theatre that he directed Hunter in Timon, and it seems they have come full circle for this American production.

Shirine Babb as Lucia and John Rothman as Flavius. Photo by Henry Grossman.

Hunter’s physically demanding performance is nothing less than extraordinary.  A tiny, wiry slip of a woman, she nonetheless displays all the power and ferocity of Dwayne ‘The Rock” Johnson when she takes to the woods to live hermit-like eschewing all social contacts and earthly comforts.  Discovering a treasure chest filled with gold, she devises a plan to outwit her greedy group of false friends.  You can’t help but be utterly gobsmacked by Hunter’s dramatic transformation from glamorous benefactor swathed in gold and jewels to monastic recluse clad in rags.

Dave Quay as Lucullus. Daniel Pearce as Sempronius, and Helen Cespedes as Flaminia. Photo by Henry Grossman.

Treating the play as a modern-day social construct, Godwin reinvents Timon’s steward, Alcibiades, imbuing him with empathy for Timon’s plight and using his sway to unmask and shame Timon’s friends for the phonies they are.  Another clever devise is using Apemantus as Timon’s reality check and positioning him around the theatre as a disembodied voice of wisdom and truth.  It’s a delicious stew of glamour and glitz, grit and gore, with indelible characters you will love to both hate and adore.  Congratulations to Godwin on his American directorial debut!

Zachary Fine, Yonatan Gebeyehu, and Julie Olgivies. Photo by Henry Grossman.

And high praise for Soutra Gilmour who designed both the costumes and the sets and Kristen Misthopoulos whose haunting voice on ancient Greek ballads lends a sense of place to the drama.

The Cast of Timon of Athens. Photo by Henry Grossman.

Highly recommended.

Lighting Design by Donald Holder; Sound Design by Christopher Shutt; Composer Michael Bruce; Choreographer Jonathan Goddard; Fight Director Lisa Kopitsky; Dramaturgy Jonathan Kalb and Drew Lichtenberg; Associate Director Allison Benko.

With Arnie Burton as Apemantus; Shirine Babb as Lucia; Helen Cespedes as Flaminia; Liam Craig as Demetrius; Zachary Fine as The Painter; Yonatan Gebeyehu as Poet; Adam Langdon as Lucilius; Elia Monte-Brown as Alcibiades; Julia Ogilvie as Jeweller; Daniel Pearce as Sempronius; Dave Quay as Lucullus; and John Rothman as Flavius.

Through March 22nd at the Michael R. Klein Theatre (formerly known as the Lansburgh Theatre) at 450 7th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20007.  For tickets and information visit  www.ShakespeareTheatre.org/events or call the box office at 202.547.1122.

The Cast of Timon of Athens. Photo by Henry Grossman.

 

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