I Read/Watch/Take Part In Plays: Timon Of Athens/ Timon(opoly)

 

Timon Of Athens

In Athens, Timon (possibly historical) is rich and generous, giving away money, patronising artists and jewellers, holding a great banquet where he offers gifts. Everyone proclaims how great he is, except Apemantus the philosopher, who insults him and insists his friends only value him for his generosity. Timon funds his servant’s wedding, pays to have a friend released from debtor’s prison, gives away his horses etc.

Alcibiades (actually historical) pleads for one of his officers before the senate, claiming that a crime of passion is a lesser offence, especially for a soldier. When he persists, they exile him from the city. Timon discovers his money has run out so sends his servant to his friends for help. All of them have spent it, so can’t assist. He decides Apemantus was right and has another banquet, where it’s just his closest friends. The dishes contain rocks and water, Timon tells everyone off then leaves forever into the wilderness to live in a cave and eat roots.

Digging for roots he finds gold. Alcibiades stumbles on him, accompanied by two prostitutes. Timon gives him most of the gold, to finance his attack and the destruction of Athens; he gives more to the prostitutes to spread disease. More people arrive and he keeps finding gold, giving it to the more honest characters, the painter etc. Apemantus comes and doesn’t want money, he complains that Timon has stolen his ideas and is doing them better. Eventually Timon’s faithful steward Flavius arrives and Timon has to admit that there is one good man (Flavius). He still won’t go and rejoin society as Flavius requests.

At last the senators arrive, though they don’t want money, they want him to convince Alcibiades to spare the city. He won’t though, invites them to hang themselves and then Timon dies. Alcibiades turns up with his troops and reads Timon’s self-composed epitaph.

What to make of this rarely performed Shakespeare play? It’s not especially fun. It doesn’t have many interesting characters – women in particular don’t have many roles. It does have a clear message, Timon is wronged, seeks isolation, can’t get it, curses everyone. But the ludicrousness of the situation seems overwhelming. And although Apemantus’s invective is entertaining, he’s not really a very good cynic, either as a philosopher or in the usual terms.

But there are some good scenes. Even Shakespeare not at his best (and possibly collaborating) is getting the job done in an interesting and often entertaining way. This fable of false friends bringing down destruction upon themselves, of no one paying any attention to the generous man’s protectors (Flavius, and even Apemantus and a fool attempt to drive away the creditors) of the absurdity of deciding to abandon mankind, only to find gold and have everyone you know trail past your hermit's cave, it’s got some strength to it. Could it, perhaps, come back in fashion?

Read This: Clever, elegantly written play about greed and false friendship
Don’t Read This: Awkwardly structured play you aren’t going to see anyway...

but…

Maybe you are going to see it. I went to Emily Carding’s one-person performance of Timon(opoly), a one hour version in which several members of the audience play as Timon and hangers on – the poet, the painter, the dancer, the jeweller and the philosopher. Fortune’s Fool has them roll dice to land on squares, handing out small amounts of gold, Timon financing most of it. At the dinner parties we the audience played games, creating a dance, and paintings, finishing poems (the fragment “vivid dreams of armadillos,” staying with me), the philosopher always acting as a spectre at the feast*.

When Timon loses his gold he comes and asks us for it, making us all complicit, all false friends. And so his rage and despair comes home to all of us. This is linked explicitly to poverty and homelessness** currently in the UK. This is, of course, relevant as ever.

Stripped down, re-arranged, being brought into the fun and then complicitly into the darkness, this is a good play, a great play maybe. The philosopher’s interventions are sharper, cutting criticisms in this version. And yet cynical as they are, they are part of the tragedy, part of the system that creates the tragedy. In the end, what are we without our friends?

[Full Disclosure: I backed the crowdfunder for Timon(opoly)]

* Wait no, that’s another play.

** As well as some dark jokes about being a freelancer in the arts as the other players find themselves in difficulties