NZ's First Production of Shakespeare's Timon of Athens
New Zealand's first production of Shakespeare's Timon of Athens in 150 years!
Want to know how a
city’s most popular and successful man can end
up
bankrupt and destitute? The Summer Shakespeare Trust
is thrilled to
announce that 2015’s Victoria University
of Wellington Summer
Shakespeare will be Timon of Athens,
directed by Brett Adam, Head of
Directing at Toi
Whakaari: NZ Drama School. This
once-in-a-lifetime
production of one of Shakespeare’s
most timely but least-known stories
will open on Friday
13 February 2015 in the Dell, Wellington
Botanic
Gardens.
Timon of Athens tells the tale of a
man who lives a life of opulence,
hosting lavish parties
and mingling with Athens’ elite and privileged.
But the
moment his cash runs out, his wealthy friends all turn
their
backs on him. Exchanging the comforts of the city
for the harsh
realities of the wilderness, Timon is
forced to confront some harsh
truths about
humanity.
“Timon of Athens is just about the most
obscure play in the canon, and
yet it’s probably the
most contemporary play Shakespeare ever wrote,”
says
trust co-chair David Lawrence. “After three very
successful years
with popular plays, it’s time for
Summer Shakespeare to take a genuine
risk with a play
that never gets done.”
Well, hardly ever. The last full
production of Timon of Athens in New
Zealand was 150
years ago at the Princess Theatre in Dunedin in 1865.
The
closest Wellington has come to the play was a staged reading
of
key moments to accompany a lecture by the late
Professor Don McKenzie
at Victoria University in
1968.
Brett Adam has international experience directing
large scale
productions. “The thing that attracted me
to this play wasn’t only
its contemporary relevance but
also its fable-like quality,” he says.
“It has
characters and situations that we can all recognise in a
story
that’s entertaining, moving and funny; the
perfect play for a balmy
summer’s evening with friends
and family in the Dell.”
Auditions for Timon of Athens
will take place on Saturday 13 and
Sunday 14 September
2014.
ENDS