By Cal
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1A2gDSD9XA
Available until: Indefinitely
When you’re learning Shakespeare at school (or at home as I
was), there’s a lot of talk about fatal flaws. Macbeth’s is ambition (as we’ll
all see next week), Othello’s was jealousy (as we saw absolutely phenomenally a
couple of weeks ago). These fatal flaws are seen as negative. Jealousy doesn’t
make anyone happy and although there’s a place for a certain amount of
ambition, it’s fair to say Macbeth… takes it a bit far.
Timon could be said to have a fatal flaw as well, but his is a quality which is usually seen as positive – generosity. Timon also isn’t pushed into being generous (though the positive reactions he gets probably do play a role). Macbeth is pushed by Lady Macbeth, and Othello is manipulated by Iago and I’ve always wondered what would have happened if Lady Macbeth and Iago had left them alone.
Timon isn’t under the same pressure – he actually has
Flavius telling him to calm it down and stop spending so much. So although I
wouldn’t put this play on a level with the great tragedies, I do feel it’s even
sadder in some ways because the tragedy comes from something positive and it really
is Timon’s tragedy – he doesn’t have a pushy wife or a sneaky friend who’s
partly at fault. It all comes from him.
This isn’t a play I find easy. I’ve actually only seen it
once before. It was a very reputable company and I wasn’t really connecting with
it, though Simon Russell Beale’s brilliant introduction definitely made me feel
a bit less wary of it. I had a feeling TSMGO might do better than the other
company as I knew they’d bring out the many characters strongly and they have
an incredible way of finding the emotional heart of a play. But the tone of Timon
is so dark and there’s a lot of harshness and rejection and I couldn’t see
myself giving the play more than three stars. I thought it wasn’t as strong as
the other plays and didn’t have the same level of wonder and beauty. Yet… here
I am giving four stars.
Ben Crystal has been involved in TSMGO for some time as a
linguist, but I hadn’t realised he was an actor so I was surprised – and very
intrigued – when he was announced as playing Timon. I do think a love for and
knowledge of language can only help with Shakespeare, but could he act? He
answered that question within a couple of seconds of his first appearance. YES,
he really can. It was an extraordinary performance. At the start, he was the perfect
host, throwing fun parties and ensuring everyone had a great time, but even
then, I had an impression of fragility under the confidence. So when Timon was
rejected by the people he thought were his friends, it seemed completely in
keeping with his character so far.
Ben’s commitment to his role is incredible. For much of the
play, he was sitting outside, in the dark – in the rain, I think! – for what
seemed like a couple of hours, getting dirtier and wetter (and not in the fun
way). It must have been physically uncomfortable, but he was so much in
character, it was Timon’s mental discomfort I kept thinking about. He was wet,
cold, dirty… and magnificent. An unforgettable performance.
The whole cast was excellent, as always. Alex Phelps plays
Flavius, the only person who really cares about Timon. He tries to save him
from ruin, then he tries to find him when he disappears. There is a lot of
darkness in this play, but there is a lot of good in Flavius and Alex brought
this across so strongly: his compassion and love for Timon. He provides the light
and hope which I knew TSMGO would find if it was there.
Miguel Perez has appeared in a number of these productions
and he always seems like such a lovely, respectable man so it was great to see
him being completely the opposite as Apemantus. I’d like to see him play all
sorts of villains now - Cardinal Wolsey, maybe? Isabel Adomakoh Young
(Alcibiades) is another extraordinary actor. It was great to see her take a
major role, especially one where she had opportunities to play so many
different types of emotion. Isabel has one of the most expressive faces I’ve
ever seen – you could probably focus the camera on her throughout the play and
not see anyone else, and Isabel’s face would tell the story. So many incredible
performers and a special shout-out to the ensemble of fourteen who showed their
versatility in a number of different roles. I especially liked seeing Ahd
Tamimi in a female role. I’d like to see more of that from TSMGO – but it won’t
be next week. Next week’s Macbeth will have an entirely female and
non-binary cast. I don’t usually get excited at the thought of not seeing any men,
but in this case…
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