TIMON OF ATHENS till November 11
TIMON OF ATHENS: William Shakespeare
Cardboard Citizens – The Complete Works Festival
Runs: 3h, one interval, till 11 November
Review: Rod Dungate, 26 October 2006
A remarkable revelation
Cardboard Citizens has achieved something remarkable in this production – TIMON becomes exciting, vibrant and relevant.
Working with an enormously varied company – varied in backgrounds, training, theatrical styles and ethnic origins – Citizens wraps the play up in a management training session. This overarching framework, itself, creates a tension between play and company – Cardboard Citizens works particularly with homeless and ex-homeless people, asylum seekers and refugees. The main thrust of the seminar is ‘bring about change’, ‘envision success and success will happen’. As one facilitator tells us: ‘Successful men do not have disappointments – only appointments.’
The contrast with Timon is immediate and powerful. Timon is successful and generous, he falls upon hard times and his friends fall away, he gives into disappointment, lives as a recluse cursing mankind. He dies, a man with no hope in his fellows – beautifully captured in the play’s final haunting image on video.
Timon, in Simeon Moore’s gentle performance, is totally human. Whereas the management trainers would wish us to see him as a failure, the drama ensures we see his journey as one of tragic fulfilment; the failure we must see is in ourselves, our society – the very society the management trainers extol the virtues of.
The company is a strong ensemble; they play with minimal props and scenery. However the story is clear and the narrative unfussy, robust. There is a roughness about it – it feels improvised and therefore immediate. Citizens’ incredible energy and open honesty sustain this riveting evening.
Lucullus/ Caphis/ Senator: Nelly Alfandari
Flavius: Ricci Beevas
Timon/ Ventidius/ Senator/ Jeweller: Agron Biba
Apemantus: Charlie Folorunsho
Sempronius/ Senator/ Hortensius: Jo Galbraith
Poet/ Servilius/ Lord: Jokob B Goode
Timon/ Lucius/ Titus: Mahdad Majdian
Timon: Simeon Moore
Flaminius/ Old Athenian/ Senator: Patrick Onione
Alcibiades/ Varro’s Servant: Dave Rogers
Painter/ Philotus: Redley Silva
Director/ Adaptor: Adrian Jackson
Adaptor: Sarah Woods
Designer: Fred Meller
Lighting Designer: Ian Saunders
Music and Soundtrack: David Baird
Assistant Director: Nick Fogg
Movement: Linda Dobell and Anna Morrissey
Voice Coach: Paul Hill
Video: Gavin Bush
Photography: Robert Day
Fight Director: Terry King
2006-10-27 14:08:15