Timon of Athens

I know that Timon of Athens is not the best of Shakespeare plays, and I would rank it near the bottom of his list.

This version of Timon of Athens lacked many things; pace, energy and most of all Shakespearian techniques. There was a clear lack of orchestration from all members of the cast, the use of pause was found all over the place and the rhythm of the pentameter was non existent. I had hoped that this was to be a good piece of Shakespearian drama, especially having seen the cast list and yet I found it very disappointing and would not recommend to anyone, especially not fans of Shakespeare.

"Timon of Athens" is an unusual play. Characters are introduced and never reappear, there are no important female characters and the whole play is somehow misshapen. Some scholars think that it may never have been produced on stage, staying in Shakespeare's desk drawer and being worked on from time to time but never quite finished.

It's possible, but this BBC production is even more odd. These Shakespeare telecasts had, by contract, to be done in either the period specified or Shakespeare's own time, but the original director hired for this show insisted on doing it in modern dress Asian. "Timon" would work better in modern dress than most Shakespeare, though the Asian dimension eludes me, but the director refused to back down and was fired just before rehearsals started.

Producer Jonathan Miller leapt in and became director. He normally percolated his production ideas for a year or more before taping, but now he had to pull this show together from scratch. It works, and better than some others with more preparation. There are many wicked directorial touches. Sometimes whole encounters are captured in one long unbroken shot, and the concentration of all involved is impressive.

Jonathan Pryce was hired for his ability to erupt, and he does. Timon's rage after the second banquet was not staged and rehearsed, it was just improvised by the actor on the spot and the cameraman followed him as best he could. The performance is vivid all the way through, with terrific emotion.

The only reason I've given this show a rating of no more than 7 is because Timon has about half the lines in the play, and Pryce's diction is just not good enough. Whole pages flew by where I didn't understand a word, and for the first time I came out of one of these videos saying "I must read the play and find out what he said." When Pryce was in scenes with RSC regulars like Norman Rodway, the other actor was completely comprehensible, so the fault is not in the sound recording, but in Pryce's gummy enunciation.

The supporting cast was mostly fine, with particularly good work by John Welsh as Flavius the Steward and Norman Rodway as Apemanthus. In bits, you can see Sebastian Shaw (Darth Vader's death scene) as the Old Athenian, Diana Dors as one of the hookers (you'll know which one) and John Justin (from "The Thief of Baghdad" with Sabu and Conrad Veidt) surfaces as an Athenian Senator. Only John Fortune and John Bird annoy, as Poet and Painter, because their "sketch comedy" performances comment on the characters rather than play them.

On the whole, recommended, with caveats.

This minor Shakespeare is more of a fable than a full-blown plot. We first meet Timon giving a feast for his 'friends' (a bunch of flatterers and fakes), lavishing praise and jewels on them. He is an innocent amongst a pack of wolves.

When his fortune changes and he needs their help, each friend turns their back on him, as the philosopher foretold in Act One. Timon then turns sage and prophet, railing at the world which abandoned him.

Jonathan Pryce heads the cast and is a wonderful Timon, turning seamlessly from the generous, open-hearted fool to the twisted, unhappy beggar. John Shrapnel is about the best of the supporting cast, although all are good within the constraints of their character stereotypes.

The history of Shakespeare's Timon of Athens is a little murky; critics speculate it was never performed in the author's lifetime, and the version that has been passed through the ages is a working draft, one the Bard tinkered on for years and eventually discarded. It is considered his weakest play.

Well, that may be, but it's still Shakespeare, which means it is still a classic. It does not have the strong storyline of Othello or the poetic depth of King Lear, but it has got a great lead character who has a very dynamic arc. And this BBC production of Timon of Athens is absolutely brilliant.

Jonathon Pryce gives an astonishing performance as Timon. He is such a little lamb at the beginning, so likeable, so naïve, and his fall is deeply moving and terribly sad. Put this performance up there with Derek Jacobi's Richard II and Laurence Olivier's Henry V. It is that good. This should be required viewing for anyone who wants to be an actor. Watching this, I never once thought, `There's Jonathon Pryce.' I thought, `Oh, poor Timon! Don't trust them! They're flatterers!'

The director and producer make some interesting (and strange) choices. Some of the dialogue is spoken out of earshot, for what seems like a long time. And the action takes place in ancient Greece, but all the characters are dressed in Elizabethan garb. I wonder: is it because they are trying to fashion something as it might have looked in Shakespeare's day? And if so, why would they do that?

That aside, there are a lot of nice directorial touches throughout, and very good work from the supporting players.

The BBC's Timon of Athens is a must for any Shakespeare fan. Watch this video!

'Timon of Athens' is a long way from being one of Shakespeare's best plays, to me like many it seems it is something of a lesser work. Some great lines, some powerful scenes and a very interesting titular character, but on the odd side structurally, not always riveting dramatically and in some way there is an incomplete working-draft feel (which is what it essentially was). It still interests and lesser Shakespeare, as cliched as this sounds, is a lot better than most things.

As can be seen in this flawed but intriguing 1981 performance as part of the BBC Television Shakespeare series running from 1978 to 1985, consisting of productions of all of Shakespeare's plays, of which it is neither one of the best or worst. Put it somewhere around low middle, but it is a decent way and place to start if wanting an introduction to the play. If anybody has not watched a production of this series or have seen only a few at most, you are in for a treat even if some productions are better than others. For Shakespeare completests or wanting to see a series where all Shakespeare plays are produced in mostly good taste with strong casts the BBC Television Shakespeare series is a must. Enough of that and lets on with talking about this production.

Not everything worked for me but most of it did. Found the production values to be too dreary, especially the lighting which agreed should have been much better contrasted. Didn't get much sense of the play being set in Ancient Greece/Athens and more Elizabethan era on low budget.

Clownish/comic relief characters are problematic to play, some can be very funny and others can be very annoying as has been evidenced by previous and succeeding productions of the series, so this is not a one-off case. John Fortune and John Bird overplay Poet and Painter and severely grate rather than amuse, performed and directed in a way that felt almost out of kilter with everything else because it felt too much like a broad comedy sketch. The second half drags slightly but the dramatic limitations of the play is more at fault here.

So much to recommend though. Really liked the continuous long takes that are almost cinematic and open the drama up, and they didn't feel overused or self-indulgent. Jonathan Miller's, stepping in after a troubled behind the scenes after the premature firing of the original director, staging is highly intelligent throughout, with the primary theme of greed being emphasised without being done so too heavily, in fact all the themes are made clear while not being over-emphasised. He makes a real effort to overcome any faults the play has and succeeds in particularly the first half, the second half is not so successful through no fault of his own. Everything is done in good taste, everything makes sense and a lot of what he does fascinates, with nothing perplexing or offending.

Despite a good number of major truncations and omissions, the text provokes thought, is emotionally complex and still manages to be coherent structurally rather than too jumpy. The cast are the main reason, other than Miller's staging, as to why this production of 'Timon of Athens' works. Did have a problem with the performances of Poet and Painter, but the "serious" roles are handled in sterling fashion. Jonathan Pryce is magnificent in the title role, very moving and he makes Timon a fully rounded character. For me it's one of the best performances of the BBC Television Shakespeare productions. Also spot on are Norman Rodway's steely Apemantus, John Welsh's loyal and similarly touching Flavius and John Shrapnel's dignified Alcibades (a strong example of doing so much with something underdeveloped).

Overall, interesting and mostly well done but flawed. 7/10