Timon of Athens: Know-The-Show Guide

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compiled and arranged by the Education Department of The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey In This Guide:TIMOn OF AtHEns: Know-the-Show Guide — 2 Director’s Notes...... p1 Timon of Athens: A Synopsis...... p2 Who’s Who in Timon of Athens...... p3 About the Playwright...... p4 Mysteries Surrounding Timon...... p5 About this Production...... p6 Timon After Timon: Sources of Timon of Athens...... p9 Money Matters in Timon of Athens...... p10 Timon of Athens: A Production History...... p11 Commentary and Criticism...... p12 Further Reading...... p14 About The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey...... back cover

Cover Photo: Ryan Maxwell – about.me/rmaxwell The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey TIMOn OF AtHEns: Know-the-Show Guide

DIRECTOR’S NOTES: Timon of Athens

Many questions surround William Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens. When was it written? Why is there no record of even a single performance of the play during Shakespeare’s lifetime? Why is the traditional structure of act breaks discarded in favor of an episodic style? Why are so many of the characters left unnamed, having only their title as an identifier (i.e. Lord 1, Steward, Senator 1, Dancer 2)? Then there are the deeper questions surrounding its titular character. Is Timon a victim, a hero or an anti-hero? Is he completely oblivious to the corruption that surrounds him? Is he culpable in the creation of the “forest of beasts” that Athens has become? How did he come by all his wealth? Is his transformation from utopic optimist to vitriol-spewing misanthropist real? If so, is it possible to believably perform that transformation? And one can’t leave out the frequent scholarly debate: was some or all of it written by someone other than Shakespeare?

These questions (and numerous others found in the play) captivated me when I first picked it up in 2008. We were looking for a final project for ourSummer Professional Training Program students to explore. Each year our students study, stage and perform an hour-long cutting of one of Shakespeare’s lesser-known works. We had already tackled Henry VI part 1 and part 3 and The Winter’s Tale and it seemed “time for Timon.” The financial crisis that the country was beginning to face at the time certainly enhanced its relevance and resonance, but I ultimately selected the piece for the wonderful staging challenges it posed.

To be quite frank, though I was intrigued on the first read, I was far from being what one would call a fan of the play. That quickly changed however, once I had a chance to explore the piece with a group of eager young actors. I was astounded how, in bringing the play to the stage, it took on a shimmering life for me. Questions about structure and extreme transformations were suddenly more easily addressed in the world of eccentric characters, garish wealth, crippling poverty, and friendship (both false and true) that I now saw tangibly before me. Athens was like a tarnished music box; a once lovely, though gaudy world of plenty and excess, dressed in mirrored sparkle and glitz, but held together by only smudges of glue and bits of wire. I was also compelled by the manner in which the play seemed to force the audience into the role of voyeurs, viewing the decadence and demise of its characters – almost as if one was watching a carnival side-show or dark vaudeville; titillating and entertaining, uncomfortable and sometimes distasteful, but impossible to turn away from.

Many see Timon simply as an allegory about the themes of excessiveness and greed. I think, upon closer examination, it speaks also to and far more deeply about the fragility of the human heart, earnestness, loyalty and the ability of one man to affect an entire society – for good or for bad. What should someone take away from this production? Is there a singular core message one must hear? Are we the flattering lords, the self-serving senators, the voracious debt-collectors, the noble friend, the wide-eyed cynic, the wronged hero, the raging misanthrope, or the ever-loyal servant? Look into the acid-cracked mirror of Athens and see what reflects back as you add these questions to the list one is faced with when considering Timon of Athens. To the question: ‘Is this play relevant for our times?’; I will answer: ‘Undeniably yes!’

“One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man.” - Elbert Hubbard

-1- The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey TIMON OF ATHENS: Know-the-Show Guide Timon of Athens: A Synopsis

As the play opens, a Poet and a Painter wait outside the home outside Timon’s gates. Furious at being locked in his home, of Lord Timon along with numerous other craft smen in hopes Timon emerges only to be accosted by the collectors. Seeing of gaining patronage from the famous philanthropist. As they the two-faced nature of his supposed friends, Timon orders discuss the noble lord, they witness numerous senators leaving Flavius to invite them all once more to a special banquet for the home and many lords entering. The Poet claims that it is which Timon will provide the meal. Timon’s generosity and power that draws so many people from all walks of life to him. As Alcibiades seeks aid from the Senate for his friend, the senators banish him from Athens. He vows to return and take Eventually Timon enters in conversati on with a servant seeking revenge on his homeland. assistance for Venti dius, a lord of Athens who has been sent to debtors’ prison. Timon pays the debt and then promises As the guests arrive for Timon’s mysterious feast, they proclaim additi onal aid to his friend. A wealthy Old Athenian arrives regrets for their inability to aid the lord. Timon enters and seeking Timon’s assistance in stopping a romance between his invites his guests to dine, but they soon discover that Timon has daughter and one of Timon’s servants. Instead, Timon off ers to prepared a banquet of stones for his false-friends. As the guests make his servant the Athenian’s fi nancial equal so that the two react in confusion, Timon begins att acking them and rushes out young lovers can be together. As Timon turns his att enti ons claiming his hatred for all humanity. Flavius vows to seek out to the gathered arti sans outside his home, he pays the poet, and follow his fallen master. painter and jeweler for “gift s” they have brought him. Seeking isolati on in a cave far from Athens, the broken Timon Into this merry fl ow of money enters Apemantus, a cynic searches for food. Ironically he uncovers a large sum of gold, philosopher who berates the gathered Athenians as well as for which he curses the gods. While in his hermitage, Timon Timon for his blind generosity. A drum announces the arrival of is visited by Alcibiades (who has gathered a rag-tag army for Captain Alcibiades, a friend of Timon’s, and everyone is invited his att ack on Athens) and Apemantus. He curses them both to a feast. and sends them away. Flavius fi nds his master and off ers him conti nued service. Moved by his loyalty, Timon gives Flavius At the banquet, Venti dius (newly freed from debtors’ prison) gold on the conditi on that the steward reject all mankind and off ers to repay Timon’s generosity twice over, but Timon is generous to none. The Poet and the Painter then seek out refuses, insisti ng that true friendship repays itself. As the guests Timon, hearing that he has gold. Timon plays along with their prepare to dine, Apemantus off ers a dark prayer att acking charade for a short ti me, but then drives them off . The fi nal the self-centered nature of the Athenians. Cupid arrives with visitors to Timon include members of the senate who have been dancers to entertain Timon and his guests, for which service the brought by Flavius. They off er Timon their sincere apologies, lord pays them. In response to gift s given to him at the party, fi nancial security, power and love. For a moment Timon is Timon pays the givers sums far exceeding the value of the gift s moved by their off er, unti l he discovers that they have merely rendered. As the guests leave, Apemantus warns Timon once fl att ered him in hopes that he will prevent Alcibiades’ att ack on again that his friends are not sincere and that Timon will soon the city. He sends them away and fades away into his cave. lose everything. Timon rejects Apemantus’ advice and leaves. Alcibiades’ army arrives at the gates of Athens. As part of a Elsewhere in Athens, a Senator uncovers Timon’s ever-growing bargain made with certain members of the senate, he vows to debts and, convinced that the lord will soon be broke, sends a spare the innocent and spend his rage only on those who have servant to collect money owed by Timon. The servant, along wronged him and Timon. with two other collectors, meet Timon as he returns from hunti ng with friends, and insist on immediate repayment. At Timon’s cave, Flavius discovers an epitaph writt en by the Flavius, Timon’s steward, turns the collectors away as he speaks now-dead Timon. with Timon about the lord’s fi nancial solvency. Alone with his master, Flavius explains that the total of Timon’s collateral will not cover even one half of his current debts. The steward also Timon of Athens is Shakespeare’s only informs Timon, that the Senate has already rejected a request for aid to Timon. Unwavered, Timon sends his servants to ask play in which the central character for fi nancial assistance from his friends. has no family connecti ons and no love interest. With each request for assistance, the servants are denied aid for Timon. As they return home, a mob of collectors are found

-2- The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey TIMON OF ATHENS: Know-the-Show Guide Who’s Who in Timon of Athens

Timon of Athens—An overly generous philanthropist, patriot THE WEALTHY OF ATHENS: and patron to the arts who joyously gives to his friends. Venti dius—A lord whom Timon frees from debtors’ prison. Timon turns against humanity, however, and exiles himself Lucius and Lucullus—Flatt ering lords of Athens who later reject when all of his alleged friends fail to help him in his Timon. fi nancial ruin. Sempronius –A wealthy, young widow (in this producti on) who refuses Timon aid when it is most needed. Apemantus—A cynical philosopher who warns Timon of the An Old Athenian—A wealthy lord who seeks Timon’s aid in impending doom his generosity will undoubtedly bring. ending the romance between his daughter and one of Timon’s loyal servants. Alcibiades—A heroic captain of the Athenian army and friend The Senators—The politi cal leaders of the city; also strict to Timon, who is banished from Athens for crossing the money-lenders. powerful senate. He later returns to conquer the city. THE ARTISANS OF ATHENS: Flavius—Timon’s true and faithful steward, who determines to A collecti on of arti sts and craft smen who wait outside Timon’s follow his master even in Timon’s demise. home hoping to receive his patronage; most notably a poet, painter, jeweler and merchant. Flaminius, Lucilius, and Servilius—loyal servants to Timon. Caphis, Philotus, Titus, Hortensius and others—Servants who The Barker—(in this producti on) A carnival-like barker who come to collect Timon’s debts. navigates the world of Athens with the audience.

Cupid—a purveyor of physical pleasures.

Phrynia and Timandra—Prosti tutes from Athens.

Members of the company surround Timon (Gregory Jackson) in the Prologue to Timon of Athens. Photo: Gerry Goodstein © 2011. -3- The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey TIMON OF ATHENS: Know-the-Show Guide About the Playwright

William Shakespeare, widely recognized as the greatest Most of English dramati st, was born on April 23, 1564. He was the third Shakespeare’s of eight children born to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden plays found of Stratf ord-on-Avon in Warwickshire, England. Shakespeare’s their fi rst father was a prominent local merchant, and Shakespeare’s major childhood, though litt le is known about it for certain, appears publicati on in to have been quite normal. In fact, it seems that the young 1623, seven Shakespeare was allowed considerable leisure ti me because his years aft er writi ng contains extensive knowledge of hunti ng and hawking. Shakespeare’s In 1582 he married Anne Hathaway, the daughter of a farmer. death, when She was eight years his senior, and the match was considered two of his unconventi onal. fellow actors put the plays It is believed that Shakespeare left Stratf ord-on-Avon and together went to London around 1588. By 1592 he was a successful in the First actor and playwright. He wrote approximately 38 plays, two Folio. Other epic poems, and over 150 sonnets. His work was immensely early printi ngs popular, appealing to members of all social spheres including of Shakespeare’s plays were called quartos, a printer’s term Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. While they were well- referring to the format in which the publicati on was laid out. liked, Shakespeare’s plays were not considered by his educated These quartos and the First Folio texts are the sources of all contemporaries to be excepti onal. By 1608, Shakespeare’s modern printi ngs of Shakespeare’s plays. involvement with theatre began to dwindle, and he spent more ti me at his country home in Stratf ord. He died in 1616.

Did Shakespeare work alone? Shakespeare scholars over the last few decades have explored the possibility that the Bard may have worked with a co-writer on some of his plays, or that some of his unfi nished works were completed by other playwrights, or that, in some instances, that Shakespeare had taken over and reworked pieces begun by some of his contemporaries. The most noted examples of these theories include Henry VIII, Edward III and even Timon of Athens. The evidence is convincing enough in some academic circles, that certain printed editi ons of select plays include co-author credits, including the Oxford of editi on of Timon of Athens, which gives Shakespeare shared billing with Thomas Middleton.

Thomas Middleton was born in London in 1580. His Some of his most successful plays, including The Family of Love, father, who was a bricklayer, died when Middleton was fi ve The Honest Whore, and A Chaste Maid in Cheapside, sati rized years old. His mother, Ann Middleton, remarried but became the immorality of the English upper class. involved in fi ft een years of lawsuits when her new husband sued her for the rights to her children’s inheritance. In 1598, Shakespeare was not Middleton’s only collaborator—he also Middleton went to Queen’s college in Oxford, but left the wrote plays with Thomas Dekker, William Rowley, and John university without a degree in order to devote his full att enti on Webster. His last play, A Game of Chess, which harshly sati rized to the theatre. Middleton married Magdalene Marbecke in contemporary politi cs, ran at the Globe for nine days before 1603. They moved to Surrey in 1608, and in 1620 he became complaints from the Spanish ambassador led to its closing. the city chronologer. Middleton wrote for several theatre Thomas Middleton died in 1627 and his wife Magdalene passed companies throughout his career and was highly prolifi c. He away the following year. became known for his comedies, which were highly sati rical.

-4- The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey TIMON OF ATHENS: Know-the-Show Guide Mysteries Surrounding Timon of Athens

Timon of Athens is a play shrouded in mystery and surrounded It is also uncertain why Shakespeare chose Middleton as a with controversy about its authorship and its genre. Although collaborator on Timon of Athens, the latt er being a younger and Timon was published in Shakespeare’s First Folio in 1623, there much less experienced playwright at the ti me. Middleton was is litt le evidence to indicate when the play was actually writt en. however a skilled sati rist, and the strong sati rical strain in the And, although it has long been acknowledged that Shakespeare play suggests that Shakespeare sought Middleton’s talent in collaborated with another author on Timon, scholars have only order to give Timon its scathing bite. recently arrived at the consensus that Shakespeare’s co-author was Thomas Middleton. Recent scholarship esti mates that Shakespeare wrote about 65% of Timon, while Middleton wrote several wry and cynical scenes Scholars esti mate that Timon of Athens was writt en around interspersed throughout the play. These secti ons are roughly the year 1607. There is no record of Timon being produced in interspersed, which leads scholars to believe that Shakespeare Shakespeare’s lifeti me, thus we must rely on other sources and Middleton abandoned their project before it was complete. to esti mate when the play was penned. It is likely that the The reason for this remains a mystery, leaving us to wonder what play contains allusions to a popular 1605 pamphlet called Two Shakespeare’s intenti ons were for this bleak and roough-hewn Unnatural and Bloody Murders as well as to the gunpowder text. plot—a failed att empt to blow up parliament and to establish a new monarchy—which also occurred in 1605. Other scholars have noti ced affi niti es between Timon and Ben Johnson’s “Hold the Presses!” Volpone, writt en in 1606. Further, the secti ons of the play that are commonly att ributed to Thomas Middleton are similar in Some scholars theorize that the never-produced Timon style to his plays Michaelmas Term and A Trick to Catch the Old of Athens was only included in the First Folio of Shake- One , writt en between 1604 and 1606. The last clue to the year speare’s plays because it perfectly fi t a printer’s “void” of Timon’s authorship comes from Shakespeare’s most likely created by the manner in which printi ng layout was done at the ti me. inspirati on for the play. Shakespeare based several his plays on Plutarch’s Lives, including Antony and Cleopatra, which he wrote around the year 1607. Plutarch’s Life of Antony contains references to both Timon and Alcibiades, another prominent character in Timon of Athens. Therefore, it is very likely that with this research fresh on his mind, Shakespeare turned to Timon shortly aft er writi ng Antony and Cleopatra.

A Man of Many Words

Shakespeare used over 20,000 diﬀ erent words in his plays and poems. Of these, 8.5% (1,700 words) had never been seen in print before Shakespeare used them.

To give you a sense of just how extraordinary this is, consider that the King James Bible uses only 8,000 diff erent words. Homer is credited with using approximately 9,000 diff erent words in his works. Milton is esti mated at using 10,000 diff erent words in his works. John Seidman as Flavius (center) with Eric Hoffmann, Geoffrey Owens, Dan Lawrence and A. Benard Cummings in Timon of Athens. Photo: Gerry Goodstein ©2011. -5- The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey TIMON OF ATHENS: Know-the-Show Guide About This Producti on

Many of the seeds of this producti on of Timon of Athens were planted in a one-hour workshop of the play with the The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey’s 2008 Summer Professional Training Program. That brief explorati on of the play included elements that evolved into the music-box opening, the carnival barker prologue (penned by director Brian B. Crowe) and the abbreviated format. In creati ng this gaudy and depraved world of Athens, the director and design team turned to infl uences from American Vaudeville, English Music Hall, the French Grand Guignol, Brechti an theatricality and the popular Steampunk aestheti c. The goal was to invite the audience in as voyeurs to the decadence, decay and demise of this sensual and sumptuous world of excess.

VAUDEVILLE The diverse immigrant populati on of the United States was Vaudeville was a form of popular entertainment throughout widely represented in Vaudeville, making it an important cross America from the 1880’s to the 1920’s. It combined dozens of secti on for American culture. Shows combined elements of performers from singers, dancers, and musicians, to animals Yiddish theater, English music hall performance, and Antebellum trainers, acrobats, and comedians in entertaining variety shows. minstrel shows. Family acts oft en showcased the traditi ons of Growing out of comical and oft en bawdy presentati ons for the performers’ heritage, providing yet another way in which fronti er sett lers in the 1850’s and 60’s, Vaudeville became a these communiti es could blend into the greater American form of family entertainment that was central to American life. culture.

The popularity of Vaudeville decreased with the arrival of radio and silent fi lms. As audiences dwindled, Vaudevillians sought work at movie theaters where they frequently performed between the reels of silent movies. Soon, theaters quit booking Vaudeville acts altogether. However, some performers went on to make their mark in the very industries that put their colleagues out of work. Legendary performers such as Charlie Chaplain, Buster Keaton, and Will Rogers brought their Vaudeville training to fi lm and television, allowing aspects of this eclecti c form of entertainment to conti nue to make its mark on the popular consciousness.

MUSIC HALL English music hall entertainment began as small stage performances at the coff ee houses and taverns of London in the 18th century. Patrons primarily came to theses places for food, drink and socializing, but the performance of song and dance became integral to the experience of these insti tuti ons. Catering to all socio-economic classes (though ususally in separate establishments), the music halls were famed for their bawdy style and rowdy, drunken audiences. One hall owner att empted to temper this reputati on by encouraging women to att end his music hall. However, this was only an invitati on for prosti tutes to seek clients there.

Eventually, music halls became more famous for their entertainment than their food and drink. While acts ranged from acrobati cs and comedy to magic tricks and sword swallowers, some of the most famous performers were singers, Jessica Ires Morris as The Barker with Cameron Berner and Londoners fl ocked to the halls to hear the hits of the and Scott Whitehurst in the prologue to Timon of Athens. day. More peculiar acts also gained the public’s att enti on. Photo: Gerry Goodstein © 2011. -6- The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey TIMON OF ATHENS: Know-the-Show Guide

The discovery of and fascinati on with electricity incited some performers to electrify themselves or swallow light bulbs that shone through their fl esh. Audiences enjoyed seeing women dress as and impersonate men, and vice versa. Escape acts were also popular. Because of the traditi on of the English music hall, the talent of Hungarian escapologist, Harry Houdini, became wildly famous.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the music hall became a far more respectf ul venue. Performances were newly dubbed as “variety shows.” Elegant theatres were built that replaced the small tavern stages. Despite the importance of the music hall to popular culture and its new-found respectability, the English music halls eventually died out with the advent of radio and fi lm. Flaminius (Jasmine Batchelor) petitions Lucullus (Ames Adamson) for as- GRAND GUIGNOL sistance as Erica Knight, Aubrey Neumann and Jessica Ires Morris look on. Photo: Gerry Goodstein ©2011. In 1897, Oscar Metenier converted an abandoned convent chapel down a dingy alley of Paris’ sex district, into a theatre called Grand Guignol. His goal was to create a naturalisti c her career, she was“shot with a rifl e and with a revolver, theatre that would explore social taboos. The outcome was a scalped, strangled, disemboweled, raped, guilloti ned, hanged, theatre of horror and violence that came to defi ne an enti re quartered, burned, cut apart with surgical tools and lancets, cut genre of macabre theatricality. into eighty-three pieces by an invisible Spanish dagger, stung by a scorpion, poisoned with arsenic, devoured by a puma, The opening performance at the Grand Guignol included strangled by a pearl necklace, and whipped.” Someti mes, it prosti tuti on and an onstage murder. This combinati on of was not the simulati on of violence that created the most fear. eroti cism and violence was a defi ning element of Grand Guignol, Grand Guignol plays also fed off of contemporary audiences’ especially once Metenier’s successor, Camille Choisy, took over fear of psychological trauma and insanity as the emergence the theatre in 1898. Under Choisy’s directi on, producti ons of psychological research aff ected the popular imaginati on. centered around acts of extreme violence and gore intended to To counteract the intensity of such exhibiti ons, performances arouse intense fear in audiences. Several doctors were present usually alternated between short comedies and horror plays. each night to att end to audience members since the success of a show was measured by how many people fainted during Surprisingly, it was not just the lower classes that enjoyed a performance. Fainti ng was no mere over-reacti on—special the Grand Guignol. The upper classes were also found there, eff ects uti lized lambskins although some preferred to keep their att endance a secret. It is to simulate the skin being no secret though, that audiences sti ll enjoy being frightened and ripped from a victi m’s face. horrifi ed. The Grand Guignol incited an enti re genre of theatre Once, an enti re operati ng and fi lm. Horror movies from the 1930’s to today are direct room was purchased to inheritors of the theatres blood splatt ering theatricality. The serve as the set for the Thrillpeddlers, a theatre company in San Francisco, is dedicated Grand Guignol. Actors to conti nuing this legacy. The Grand Guignol closed its doors in underwent all kinds of 1962. Some say that in the wake of two world wars, audiences staged violence. Paula had seen too much violence in the real world to have reason to Maxa, a principle actor of seek it in the theatre. the Grand Guignol stage was reported to be “the most assassinated woman in the world.” Throughout A vintage Grand Guignol poster. -7- The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey TIMON OF ATHENS: Know-the-Show Guide

In order to accomplish the V-eff ekt, Brecht used parti cular theatrical devices to keep the audience from becoming empatheti cally involved with the characters. Devices such as breaking the fourth wall (when a character addresses the audience), harsh lighti ng, and visual capti ons summarizing the stage acti on, all were techniques used to encourage distancing. Along with the theatrical devices, Brecht steered his actors from becoming “the man he portrays.” Instead, Brecht encouraged his actors to be objecti vely commenti ng on their roles, in order to further delineate the separati on between audience and character.

During a ti me when people were horrifi ed by humanity’s capacity for destructi on, Brecht transformed theatre into an instructi onal tool to provide spectators with a newfound awareness of their own abiliti es for taking acti on in the real A steampunk reimagining of The Ghostbusters from a recent convention. world.

BRECHT’S THEATRE OF ISOLATION STEAMPUNK Born in Augsburg, Germany, Bertolt Brecht became a German Steampunk is a subgenre of literature, fi lm, music, fashion, and poet, playwright and theatrical reformer. Drawing on Karl art that combines contemporary science fantasy and eclecti cism Marx’s ideologies, Brecht created an ‘epic theatre’ geared with Victorian technology and style. It typically romanti cizes towards provoking politi cal and social reform. In response to the era aft er the advent of the industrial revoluti on, but before the devastati ng aft ermath of World War I, Brecht aimed to the spread of electricity. The term “steampunk” was coined in transform theatre into a social medium designed to inspire 1979 by science fi cti on author, K.W. Jeter who was looking to change within society. As opposed to the Aristotelian dramati c create a niche for contemporary works of fi cti on inspired by theatre, Brecht’s epic theatre transformed the spectator into an H.G. Wells and Jules Verne. The term combines the “steam” outsider in the theatre, while igniti ng the spectator’s capacity of the Victorian steam-powered engine with the “punk” of for acti on in the real world. cyberpunk—an earlier subgenre of dystopian science fi cti on. Throughout the 1980’s and 90’s, the term caught on and began Brecht theorized: “The dramati c theatre’s spectator says: Yes, to defi ne an ever-growing and somewhat ambiguous aestheti c. I have felt that too- Just like me - It’s only natural - It’ll never change - The suff erings of this man appall me, because they Today, writers, musicians, fi lmmakers, and clothing designers are inescapable - That’s great art; it all seems the most obvious are creati ng work that is inspired by steampunk. In 1990, thing in the world - I weep when they weep, I laugh when they William Gibson and Bruce Sterling published the novel, The laugh. Diﬀ erent Engine, which became a defi ning piece of steampunk literature, fashioning an alternate history of the Victorian era. The epic theatre’s spectator says: I’d never have thought it - Steampunk wardrobes oft en combine top hats, petti coats and That’s not the way - That’s extraordinary, hardly believable - It’s three piece suits with goggles and watch gears. A popular got to stop - The suff erings of this man appal me, because they steampunk trend is to outf it modern devices such as laptops are unnecessary - That’s great art: nothing obvious in it - I laugh and mp3 players with vintage metal and gears so that they when they weep, I weep when they laugh.” resemble 19th century machines. Steampunk has also worked its way into the mainstream through movies such as Disney’s With this theory in mind, Brecht used an “estrangement” eff ect, Atlanti s: The Lost Empire (2001), The League of Extraordinary also known as the Verfremdungseﬀ ekt. The V-eff ekt reminds Gentlemen (2003) based on the comic book of the same ti tle, the audience that they are seeing a representati on of reality and the 2009 Sherlock Holmes, with Robert Downey Jr. Last in order for them to remain detached from the characters. year, fans of this fantasti cal subgenre converged in Somerset, This detachment is essenti al, according to Brecht, in order for New Jersey at the Steampunk World’s Fair. The growing reach spectators to use their own minds to draw conclusions and of steampunk has inspired many with its dark glamour, opulent reevaluate their own lives. embellishment, and imaginati ve revisions of the world. -8- The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey TIMON OF ATHENS: Know-the-Show Guide Timon Aft er Timon: Sources of Timon of Athens

Like several of Shakespeare’s plays, including Antony and too strongly for the life of his friend. However, the historical Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, and Coriolanus¸ Timon of Athens Alcibiades was likely a victi m of politi cal scheming. While Athens is based on historical informati on from Plutarch’s Lives. In was at war with Sparta, Alcibiades made tacti cal decisions additi on, Shakespeare likely drew from a comical nd2 century that he himself was not allowed to carry out. They were Greek dialogue by Lucian called Timon the Misanthrope. The given instead to a far less talented general. Around that same infl uence of both of these sources, as well as their tragic and ti me, several religious statues in Athens were blasphemously sati rical tones, can certainly be seen in the play. An anonymous vandalized, and since Alcibiades was a known agnosti c, the early-17th century comedy called Timon may have been another desecrati ons were falsely att ributed to him. Thus, Alcibiades source for Timon of Athens, though it is uncertain which play went into voluntary exile in order to save his own life and joined was writt en fi rst. allegiance with Sparta. Ironically, when Athens found itself in trouble a second ti me, Alcibiades returned and led the Athenian The legend of Timon dates back to the ti me of the army against the Spartans. When Athens failed to put their full Peloponnesian War during the 5th century B.C. Timon’s story was trust in him, however, he resumed his exile. the subject of a lost play by the Greek playwright Anti phanes, and was comically alluded to in plays by Aristophanes. In Lucian’s take on Timon, Zeus sends Hermes and Plutus to Plutarch references Timon in his Life of Antony, saying that answer Timon’s prayers by restoring his wealth, but Timon when Antony was met with misfortune, he went into an exile abuses them and nearly refuses their help. This comical like that of Timon. While Plutarch’s descripti on of Timon is dialogue was a source for the more sati rical aspects of merely anecdotal, he dedicates an enti re secti on of the Lives Shakespeare’s tragicomic play. to Alcibiades, a celebrated military captain who was banished from Athens. In the play, Alcibiades is banished for pleading

Variati ons on a Vicious Theme

“At last, I’ve bid the knaves farewell; Ask not my name—but go—to hell… My name is Timon: knaves, begone! Curse me, but come not near my stone!” -Plutarch’s Lives

“Friendship, hospitality, society, compassion– vain words all. To be moved by another’s tears, to assist another’s need–be such things illegal and immoral. Let me live apart like a wolf; be Timon’s one friend–Timon.” -Lucian, Timon the Misanthrope

“Timon will to the woods, where he shall ﬁ nd The unkindest beast more kinder than mankind.” -William Shakespeare Timon of Athens

Beware of Dog! “You’re a dog!” “Away, unpeaceable dog, or I’ll spurn thee hence.” Timon of Athens Act I: scene 1

When the Painter and Lucullus each call Apemantus a dog, they are actually a bit ahead of their ti me (at least in the context of the history of philosophers). In 350 B.C., the philosopher Anti sthenes taught that wealth was corrupti ng. Diogenes, one of his pupils, chose therefor to live in squalor, snarling and barking at philosophers with other points of view. Because of this, Diogenes and his followers became known as kynikos, or “dog-like.” The translati on of this into English is “Cynic.” Therefore, the painter isn’t merely insulti ng Apemantus, but is referring to his philosophy and his way of life.

Money Matt ers in Timon of Athens

Though money is a major theme in Timon of Athens, Shakespeare takes litt le pains in holding to a consistent mode “Plutus, the god of gold, is but his steward...” of currency. He alternates from talents (an ancient Greek Timon of Athens measure of currency) to the Briti sh crown to fi cti onal solidares Act I: scene 1 to eventually simply calling out “pieces” (one assumes of gold) or mere quanti ti es without any denotati on at all. The Plutus (or Ploutos) was the Greek god of wealth and confusion is potenti ally a result of his collaborati on with another good fortune. The son of Demeter, the goddess of playwright, or it may have been a means by which his arti sti c agriculture, and the hero Iasion, Plutus was blinded license unwitti ngly made the universality of Timon’s plight and by Zeus so that he would give wealth indiscriminately the absurdity of the debts owed more palpable for numerous without favour to the good or virtuous. The demi- audiences. god is usually depicted as a boy bearing an enormous cornucopia. A talent was worth about sixty pounds of silver, which, today is worth about $2,000. Venti dius is therefore imprisoned for Plutus’ blindness not only allows fortune to fall for no owing approximately $10,000. When Timon asks the lords for apparent reason on those he encounters, but it is also fi ft y talents to aid him in his fi nancial distress, he’s requesti ng said to contribute to the slowness with which fortune about $100,000 from each of them. His request of a thousand arrives for its benefi ciaries. Oft en shown with wings, talents from the senate calculates to about two million dollars. Plutus (along with wealth and good fortune) was said to fl y away far faster than he would arrive.

-10- The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey TIMOn OF AtHEns: Know-the-Show Guide Timon of Athens: A Production History

Although Timon of Athens is one of Shakespeare’s least Timon’s epitaph over the sound of his soldiers’ drums. This frequently produced plays, it has an interesting and varied scene, with Alcibiades as a noble eulogist, served to honor an production history as each generation formed concepts that even nobler Timon. embraced Timon’s rough-hewn themes to shed light on their own contemporary issues. In the 20th century, directors have turned their attention away from Timon as a tragic individual and focused instead on his role Over the centuries scholars and artists have had various views within a corrupt society. This perspective has led to productions of Timon of Athens. As there is no record of Timon being of great relevance, especially during periods of social and produced in Shakespeare’s lifetime, it is difficult to say how it economic distress. In 1947, Barry Jackson directed Timon of may have been received by his audiences. The play seems to Athens at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. This production have been dormant for several decades until it was produced in continued Jackson’s move to stage Shakespeare’s plays in the late 1600’s. While in the 18th century people viewed Timon modern dress, which was considered ground-breaking for the as the foolish victim of his false friends, the Romantics of the time. The actors wore business suits and the second half of the 19th century viewed Timon as a deeply admirable and Christ- play was staged inside a bomb crater. In 1963, a production at like figure who falls victim to his own generosity and idealism. Stratford Ontario used an original jazz score by Duke Ellington. Karl Marx revered Shakespeare for the manner in which he With only a single tree on stage for the second half of the show, portrayed money in Timon of Athens. Marx believed that Timon the production of Timon was reminiscent of Thomas Beckett’s was an accurate expression of the corrupting influence of famous absurdist play, Waiting for Godot, and was noted for its money on individuals and society. ironic despair.

In 1674, Thomas Shadwell brought Timon to Restoration Following the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, a 1969 audiences with his adaptation of the play. Shadwell significantly production of the play in Prague spoke very directly to the altered the text to include two lovers of Timon, one faithful and times. Although absurdist theatre had been banned in Prague, the other deceitful. Although the faithful lover is abandoned Timon was staged in an absurdist style. The play focused on by Timon in favor of the deceitful one, she follows him into the the betrayals of Timon’s false friends as a commentary on the woods, choosing to die with him. Alcibiades declares that this Communist propaganda that promised Soviet-Czech friendship. act is a testament to the transcendent power of love. With the insertion of a mini-opera by Henry Purcell in the first banquet Peter Brook’s famous production of the play in 1974 linked scene, Shadwell’s production focused more on the tragic the events in Timon to the 1970’s oil crisis and the growing aspects of the play and added hopeful overtones to the story. social unease with capitalism. Brook was strongly influenced by Karl Marx’s reading of the play and saw Timon as exemplary By the 19th century, the concept of the Romantic hero had of money’s destructive role in society. Staged against a deeply influenced interpretations of Timon. Not only was Timon huge mottled wall in a crumbling theatre, the post-modern seen as a tragic character, as he had appeared in Shadwell’s production examined decay on various levels—both economic production, but many viewed Timon of Athens as a model and metaphysical. To Brook, the play spoke to man’s inability example of tragic heroism. George Lamb’s 1816 production to recognize the truth of his situation, and his tendency to adhered more faithfully to Shakespeare’s original text, touting withdraw into despair after confronting his reality. a production that would “restore Shakespeare to the stage with no other omissions than such as the refinement of manners Productions throughout the 1990’s examined the dangers of had rendered necessary.” For Lamb, this meant removing the living beyond one’s means and reflected on junk bonds, the prostitutes and all sexual references. Also in keeping with the dot com bubble and corporate corruption. Michael Langham times, Lamb added a scene in which Lucius and Lucullus faced set his 1991 production in a decadent 1920’s nightclub with a punishment from Alcibiades, thus adhering to the conventional Gatsby-esque Timon who suffers the effects of the stock market notions of poetic justice. Samuel Phelps’ 1851 production crash. In the same year, Trevor Nunn set his production in at Sadler’s Well very clearly portrayed Timon as noble and contemporary England, creating a world overflowing with high- disheartened. At the end of the play, Phelps used a panorama tech devices. As these diverse interpretations of the play have on wheels which unfurled to create the allusion of Alcibiades shown, Timon of Athens reaches audiences of all times with its and his troops marching toward Timon’s seaside grave. As the universal themes of greed and false friendship, imprudence and light of the setting sun rippled on the waves, Alcibiades read decadence.

-11- The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey TIMON OF ATHENS: Know-the-Show Guide Commentary and Criti cism

“Timon of Athens, of all the works of Shakespeare, possesses most the character of sati re: a laughing sati re in the picture of the parasites and fl att erers, and a Juvenalian in the bitt erness of Timon’s imprecati ons on the ingrati tude of a false world… In the speeches of Timon, aft er he is undeceived, all hosti le fi gures of speech are exhausted—it is a dicti onary of eloquent imprecati ons.” August Schlegel, Lectures On Dramati c Art and Literature, 1809

“Timon...neither loves to abhor himself nor others. All his vehement misanthropy is forced, uphill work. From the slippery turns of fortune, from the turmoils of passion and adversity, he wishes to sink into the quiet of the grave. On that subject his thoughts are intent...(and)...he fi nds ti me and place to grow Jessica Ires Morris, Geoffrey Owens and Scott Whitehurst in romanti c. He digs his own grave by the sea-shore, contrives his Timon of Athens. Photo: Gerry Goodstein © 2011. funeral ceremonies amidst the pomp of desolati on, and builds his mausoleum of the elements.” William Hazlitt ,Characters of Shakespeare’s Plays, 1817

“In no other play is a more forceful, a more irresisti ble, mastery of technique—almost crude in its massive, architectural eff ects—employed. But then, no play is so massive, so rough-hewn into Atlantean shapes from the mountain rock of the poet’s mind or soul, as this of Timon…No technical scaff olding in Shakespeare has to stand so weighty and shatt ering a stress. For this play is Hamlet, Troilus and Cressida, Othello, King Lear become self-conscious and universal; it includes and transcends them all.” G. Wilson Knight, The Wheel of Fire, 1930

“If Aristotle was right when he called plot the soul of tragedy, Timon of Athens has no soul.” Mark Van Doren, Shakespeare, 1939

“I fi nd that the play stages bett er than it reads; it is intensely dramati c, but very unevenly expressed…As with Troilus and Cressida, which also was never staged, Shakespeare seems to have underesti mated his dramati c art…I suspect that Shakespeare experienced a personal revulsion at what he was fi nishing and turned away from it to do some play doctoring upon what became Pericles, thus inaugurati ng his fi nal mode of visionary dramas, or romances.” Harold Bloom, The Inventi on of the Human, 1998

“(In Timon of Athens) Shakespeare stresses especially two properti es of Money: (1) It is the visible divinity—the transformati on of all human and natural properti es into their contraries…(2) It is the common whore, the common pimp of peoples and nati ons.” Karl Marx, Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, “The Power of Money”