William Shakespeare's Other Tragedy

The production of Timon of Athens at the Agassiz Theater probably caused some lifted eyebrows. This least known of all Shakesperean plays is an unfinished text that is speculated to have been born out of a collaboration between Shakespeare and renaissance playwright Thomas Middleton. Of all Shakesperean plays, Timon of Athens needs a strong directorial hand to adapt it for the stage. Chronologically, the play occupies the uncomfortable spot between King Lear and Macbeth and can be easily dismissed as the awkward transition in-between.

The plot begins when Timon, a wealthy Athenian merchant, spreads his seemingly limitless riches among his friends and lavishes penniless Athenian artists with his patronage. He has no ulterior motive: he is simply a kind and generous soul who lives, unconsciously, far beyond his considerable means. His life becomes full of complication once the steward Flavius reveals that Timon's estate is mortgaged to the hilt. As the news leaks out, creditors begin to hound the generous merchant. Timon is forced to appeal to his friends, who, predictably, refuse him.

Dissapointed in the human race, Timon invites all his friends to one last feast. At the feast he blames them for their ingratitude, after which he leaves Athens, cursing the city and everyone in it. Timon finds a cave in the woods and is determined to live on roots, but all he finds upon digging is gold.

One by one, his former associates visit him, some to deplore his condition, others to exploit him for gold or to ask for his help. Timon sends them all away and refuses to defend Athens against invasion. Alcibiades is Timon's only faithful friend, and in return Timon gives him gold. As the city falls, Timon dies in the woods, but the memory of his former self prompts the conqueror to spare Athens and reestablish peace.

This is undoubtedly a moral play, more so than either Lear or Macbeth, and it presents several complications. The immediate problem is the absence of a working text. The Shakesperean original, involving an anti-climactic number of secondary characters wondering in and out of the stage and one too many perorations from the newly misanthropic Timon, is clearly unsuitable for a student production. To this problem, director Matt Hudson found the simplest solution: he cut. The cast was reduced to about half its prescribed size, Timon's speeches were shortened or eliminated and the verbal exchanges between characters were reduced to the bare minimum. This aides comprehension, and the production is an effective digest of the original Timon, retaining all the original pathos in significantly fewer words.

A second complication involves the cast. As written by Shakespeare, there are almost no female characters in Timon of Athens. Yet the Agassiz production gave the play a different twist by featuring Julie Rattey '02 in the title role, together with four other actresses in a cast of ten. It remains unclear, however, whether the production was meant to be gender neutral or to capitalize on this change to the original cast.

While the minimal use of costumes and lines seems to indicate the former, the final scene between Timon and the steward Flavius draws heavily on the gender difference between the two actors. The Athenian context makes this scene stand out for its sexual overtones, and had the director's intent been more explicit, it would have provided for a very original interpretation of the Shakespearean drama.

While the interactions between actors remains somewhat ill-defined, the actors speak their lines beautifully. Julie Rattey in particular makes for a very credible Timon. However, the other characters are often awkward in their interactions with each other. And in the case of Timon, sometimes the interaction between characters ceases entirely, as some of his dialogues occasionally border on monologues. This, however, is a general pitfall of Shakesperean productions and, by comparison, the cast of Timon manages their lines remarkably well.

What stands out more than anything about the production of Timon is the intelligent usage of the few props and technical facilities that the Agassiz has to offer. The austere sets are complemented by the gaudy costumes donned by Timon's friends and parasites. Colored lights are used very emphatically, with semi-obscurity surrounding Timon in the first stages of madness. Strong red light is used to symbolize the fall of Athens and the death of Timon. In addition, the Jeweler (Maggie Lehrman '04) and the Painter (John Hulsey '03) stand out throughout the play for their stage presence. They provide cohesion to the groups, silent commentary on the actions of Timon's associates and excellent comic relief. Lehrman and Hulsey bring together a good, if occasionally disparate, stage to make Timon of Athens a worthwhile visual experience.

TIMON OF ATHENS

written by

William Shakespeare

directed by

Matthew K. Hudson '03

Nov. 2 to Nov. 4

Agassiz Theater

written by

William Shakespeare

directed by

Matthew K. Hudson '03

Nov. 2 to Nov. 4

Agassiz Theater