Word: agassiz
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...production of Timon of Athens at the Agassiz Theater probably caused some lifted eyebrows. This least known of all Shakesperean plays is an unfinished text that is speculated to have been born out of a collaboration between Shakespeare and renaissance playwright Thomas Middleton. Of all Shakesperean plays, Timon of Athens needs a strong directorial hand to adapt it for the stage. Chronologically, the play occupies the uncomfortable spot between King Lear and Macbeth and can be easily dismissed as the awkward transition in-between...
...second complication involves the cast. As written by Shakespeare, there are almost no female characters in Timon of Athens. Yet the Agassiz production gave the play a different twist by featuring Julie Rattey '02 in the title role, together with four other actresses in a cast of ten. It remains unclear, however, whether the production was meant to be gender neutral or to capitalize on this change to the original cast...
...What stands out more than anything about the production of Timon is the intelligent usage of the few props and technical facilities that the Agassiz has to offer. The austere sets are complemented by the gaudy costumes donned by Timon's friends and parasites. Colored lights are used very emphatically, with semi-obscurity surrounding Timon in the first stages of madness. Strong red light is used to symbolize the fall of Athens and the death of Timon. In addition, the Jeweler (Maggie Lehrman '04) and the Painter (John Hulsey '03) stand out throughout the play for their stage presence. They...
...theater itself offers an ideal setting for the production. Janie Howland's design is such that the Agassiz Theater looks like an extension of her set, which depicts a sitting room in the Sidley Park manor house. In the 19th-century scenes, 23-year-old tutor Septimus Hodge (Austin Guest '04) instructs 13-year-old Thomasina Coverly (Sarah Thomas '04), the precocious daughter of Lord and Lady Croom, the aristocrats who own Sidley Park. Jana Howland's costume design evokes the complexity of period dress through relatively simple outfits, which seem credible but not overwrought. In the present-day scenes...
Sure, you've heard of Hamlet and King Lear. But Timon of Athens? This weekend, one of Shakespeare's least known tragedies makes its Boston premier on the Agassiz Stage as director/producer Matt Hudson '03 brings to life a play that was probably never staged in the Bard's own lifetime. But even if you're not a Shakespeare scholar, there's reason to head for the Agassiz. A moving story of friendship and betrayal, Timon resonates with as much power as any of Shakespeare's better-known works...