Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Joseph Ziegler takes the title role in Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens, directed by Stephen Ouimette. Previews begin today at the Tom Patterson Theatre.
Having directed a highly acclaimed production in 2004, Mr. Ouimette returns to the play for a second time. He has chosen a modern backdrop for this searing drama, drawing stark parallels between the world of Timon and the one in which we live today.
“I think some plays work best in their own period, and some just demand to be done in a modern setting,” says Mr. Ouimette. “I think this one absolutely does: it speaks to a modern audience, and its message is really important to us today. There’s a little exchange right at the beginning: ‘How goes the world?’ asks the Poet. And the Painter replies, ‘It wears, sir, as it grows.’ I feel that line has become so important to us. Look at the wear and tear we’ve been putting poor old Mother Earth through. It was true then but it’s even truer now.”
“Stephen has a special history with this play and it’s exciting to see how bringing 13 more years of life experience to it has only made it more affecting,” says Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino. “Together with his extraordinary cast and creative team, he has taken the play to thrilling new heights. Just like his last production, I think this will be something people remember for years.”
Timon of Athens tells the story of the wealthy nobleman Timon, whose compulsive generosity makes him the most popular man in Athens, but he falls prey to flatterers and false friends, on whom he showers lavish gifts and extravagant hospitality. His loyal steward, Flavius, tries to warn him of the financial consequences of such reckless expenditure, while the cynical philosopher Apemantus mocks his naivety, but Timon ignores them both. When his money runs out and his creditors demand payment, Timon sends confidently to his “friends” for help. When all refuse him, he throws one last party – one that heralds a dramatic change in his attitude to the world.
The cast features Tim Campbell as Alcibiades, Ben Carlson as Apemantus and Michael Spencer-Davis as Flavius.
The creative team includes Designer Dana Osborne, Lighting Designer Kimberly Purtell, Sound Designer Thomas Ryder Payne, Fight Director John Stead and Movement Director Adrienne Gould.
Timon of Athens opens on Friday, June 2, and runs until September 22.
Production support is generously provided by Cec & Linda Rorabeck.
Corporate sponsor for the 2017 season of the Tom Patterson Theatre is BMO Financial Group.
Support for the 2017 season of the Tom Patterson Theatre is generously provided by Richard Rooney & Laura Dinner.
Timon of Athens Forum highlights
The Forum is a series of events, such as exclusive showcases, guest speakers, special meals, music and family fun, that offer theatregoers a unique opportunity to delve deeper into the ideas and issues raised by the 2017 playbill. Themes related to Timon of Athens will be explored through several Forum events, including:
Friday, June 23
Join George Koppelman and Daniel Wechsler, authors of Shakespeare’s Beehive: An Annotated Elizabethan Dictionary Comes to Light, as they explain the amazing discovery of this illuminating work and how the annotations contained therein shed light on and tie directly in to Shakespeare’s early plays.
• The Ellington/Stratford Connection
Monday, July 24
Duke Ellington visited Stratford many times both to perform and to compose. Bassist Michael McClennan leads a performance of Ellington’s 1963 score for Timon of Athens and his 1957 album Such Sweet Thunder, which was inspired by and dedicated to the Stratford Festival.
Support for Forum Music is generously provided by Sandra Rotman in honour of Louis Applebaum through The Louis Applebaum Visiting Artists Program.
The Stratford Festival’s 2017 season runs until October 29, featuring Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, Timon of Athens, Guys and Dolls, HMS Pinafore, Treasure Island, The School for Scandal, The Changeling, Bakkhai, Tartuffe, The Madwoman of Chaillot, The Komagata Maru Incident, The Virgin Trial and The Breathing Hole. For tickets and more information, visit stratfordfestival.ca or call 1.800.567.1600.
Photo: Joseph Ziegler as Timon of Athens. ©2016 Lynda Churilla.
2017-05-08
Stratford: Shakespeare's "Timon of Athens" begins previews today