Timon of Athens

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by William Shakespeare

His sharpest satire

  • Director: Lucy Bailey
  • Designer: William Dudley
  • Composer:Django Bates
  • Choreographer: Maxine Doyle

Timon, a rich and generous Athenian, showers his friends with gifts and hospitality. Only the cynical and suspicious Apemantus and Timon’s steward, Flavius, try to stem the flow of his prodigality. At last, the money runs out and Timon turns to his fair-weather friends for help. One by one they refuse, and Timon, once the city’s most carefree philanthropist, turns into its most savage misanthrope.

In this unblinking exposé of human selfishness, absurd comedy and grotesque spectacle veer suddenly into tragic satire and savage invective. But Timon’s virulence is tempered by his vulnerability and the play also contains some of Shakespeare’s greatest poetry. This is an opportunity to see a great and fascinating work all too rarely performed.

Lucy Bailey returns to the Globe as director and William Dudley as designer. No-one who saw it could forget their overwhelming and enormously popular Titus Andronicus in 2006.

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Discover the play

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Cast

Peter Bankolé Jeweller/Flaminius
Jonathan Bond Lucius/Bandit/ Lucillius
Oliver Boot Ventidius/Bandit
Christopher Brandon Merchant/Servillius
Adam Burton Lucullus/Bandit
Richard Clews Senator/Stranger
Patrick Godfrey Flavius
Robert Goodale Senator/Old Athenian/Stranger
Michael Jibson Painter/Varro’s Servant
Michael Matus Poet/Caphis
Pippa Nixon Phrynia
Gary Oliver Alcibiades
Simon Paisley Day Timon
Sam Parks Sempronius/Bandit/Messenger
Bo Poraj Apemantus
Fernanda Prata Cupid
Laura Rogers Timandra
Vinicius Salles Alcibiades' friend/Isidore's servant/Lucullus' servant
Bethan Walker Amazon
Sian Williams Amazon

Alina Bzhezhinska, Marta Janitorova, Julie Kjær, Clara Sanabras, Sovra Wilson Dickson Musicians

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Reviews

*** 'Lucy Bailey directs with a superbly reckless bravura... Brilliantly designed... Wonderful performance of Simon Paisley Day... A thrilling occasion and another hit in the Globe's spectacularly successful season' The Independent

'A spectacular affair... The theatre's space is brilliantly exploited... Simon Paisley Day is faultless as Timon, exuding all the charisma, geniality and magnetism of a great host... Forget the recession, and book' The Observer

**** 'Lucy Bailey’s impressively imaginative production... Fine performances... Leaves you perversely wondering if Bailey’s revival isn’t better than Shakespeare’s play' The Times

'Paisley Day is excellent, he brings conviction to Timon's asinine largesse and to his subsequent hatred of all humanity... There's good support from Patrick Godfrey as Timon's improbably loyal servant and Bo Poraj as the scathing philosopher Apemantus' Evening Standard

**** 'What gives this production zing is how director Lucy Bailey and designer William Dudley have made tremendously innovative use of the Globe’s space' Daily Express

'Refreshingly radical... Visually, the effect is striking' The Guardian

**** 'One approach to a play that's been largely forgotten is to stage it in a way that's unforgettable... Powerfully anchored in Paisley Day's highly articulate performance of a particularly demanding role' Metro

**** 'A night that confounded expectations and wrung every last nuance from the text. Outstanding' LondonPaper

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