Theatre review: Timon of Athens (RSC / Swan)

With its story of economic inequality and social unrest - in Greece no less - Timon of Athens seems like a play that would have attracted a lot of revivals in recent years, but the fragmentary nature of the text means Shakespeare and Middleton's tragedy remains as obscure a part of the canon as ever. Its obligatory appearance in the "T" season as part of the RSC's complete works is only the third time I've seen it, and marks one of the few occasions when the company's departed from their current policy of staging all the Shakespeares in the main house, presumably figuring the Swan would be easier to fill. But if the play's obscure the casting is, to me at least, a definite draw, with Kathryn Hunter taking on the title role. Timon has a seemingly infinite belief in the goodness of humanity, as she has more friends than any other woman in Athens. Of course, she's also one of the richest, and famously generous.

So generous, in fact, that she's lost track of her spending despite the attempts by her steward Flavius (Patrick Drury) to make her realise she's heavily in debt.

When her creditors, led by the senator Demetrius (Edmund Wiseman,) come demanding their payment, Timon assumes her friends will finally repay her generosity and bail her out, but they all have ready excuses for why they can't, and she ends up homeless in a junkyard. Her goodwill turned to vicious misanthropy by the betrayal, when further changes in circumstance mean the leaders of Athens need her help once more, they find they can no longer rely on it.

Simon Godwin's production comes in at two-and-a-half hours and goes at a good pace, so even though I don't know the play well enough to pinpoint what's been done, it seems a lot of work has gone into editing and streamlining it into something that doesn't reflect the text's unfinished nature. It's pared back to a simple but potently contemporary fable about capitalism and, in the eventual uprising led by Debbie Korley's Alcibiades, the danger of the privileged few ignoring what's going on outside their bubble.

The story's setting (and Hunter's own heritage) is most reflected in Michael Bruce's music, which has a strong Greek flavour (including a bouzouki.) If Soutra Gilmour's costume designs for Timon have a Japanese influence that also seems appropriate enough for an actor whose performance style has a touch of Kabuki to it. This may not be a role to showcase Hunter's unusual physicality by having her transform into animal shapes, but it does lend her an otherworldly quality that reflects someone always a little bit out of the real world - whether it's the rich Timon's deliberate refusal to engage with the reality of her finances, or the destitute version's retreat from human contact.

The supporting cast provide a rogue's gallery of Timon's flatterers, with Imogen Slaughter, David Sturzaker and James Clyde as a downright villainous trio, and Ralph Davis and Sagar I M Arya a more comic pair who put themselves through humiliations in an attempt to get back on a gravy train that's long since departed. Nia Gwynne's philosopher Apemantus is the one voice of warning in the good days and the only one to attempt to help Timon in a practical way in the bad ones, but her downbeat attitude makes for a Cassandra-like inability to convince Timon of the dangers of believing in a fantasy where everything works out fine (I mean if you want to infer some relevance to "Remoaners" here who am I to stop you?)

But any contemporary links are left to the audience to decide in Godwin's production, which doesn't overplay any of its metaphors. The fairly simple story that relies heavily on constant, sudden reversal of fortunes means Timon of Athens' comparative obscurity probably isn't entirely undeserved. But even if Godwin doesn't make the case for this as an overlooked masterpiece he does bring out the bitter comedy in the tragedy and make the play feel less bleak.

Timon of Athens by William Shakespeare and Thomas Middleton is booking in repertory until the 22nd of February at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon.

Running time: 2 hours 30 minutes including interval.

Photo credit: Simon Annand.