Timonopoly is a one-person show adapting the Shakespeare (and Thomas Middleton) work Timon of Athens. As performer Emily Carding notes in their introduction to the show, this is one of the Bard’s lesser known works.
As has become the norm with Brite Theater productions, there is a degree of audience participation. The text has been condensed down to its essential elements and characters, and whilst an audience member portrays Timon, the clever use of a hat allows Carding to deliver all of the complex Shakespearean language.
Other members of the audience play key members of Timon’s inner circle of hangers-on and sycophants: a dancer, painter, poet, jeweller and philosopher are called upon at various points to contribute in different ways.
The conceit of the production is that Timon has lots of wealth, and many of the others in his circle very little – and they are often reliant on Timon for their financial security. What better way to illustrate the vagaries of modern finance than with that traditional board game, Monopoly?
If you’ve ever played Monopoly, you’re probably aware of families having adapted rule sets, and the whole thing degenerating pretty quickly into a fight, sullen words, or an outright tantrum. It’s testimony to Carding’s honed experience of working a crowd that everything remains (mostly) polite, and collaborative.
Timon rolls a giant dice. Whatever number comes up, Carding, acting as a ‘Fool’ in the Shakespearean sense, lays down a series of property cards, followed by a special card. If you’re familiar with Monopoly, you’ll smile as the property cards are revealed. They have an homage to the classic design structure, but the street names have been modified and are now places from Shakespeare’s works. We spotted Harlech Castle, Dunsinane Hill and Verona amongst the cards laid down. But it’s in the special cards that the story is told.
A special card generates a Fortune card, and, as in classic Monopoly, the drawer must follow the instructions. Some lead to positive outcomes, others less so. ‘Gold’ is exchanged – mostly flowing from Timon to the other characters.
All of this is highly engaging. Even if you’re not one of the player-characters, there are still things to do, and there’s great people-watching in seeing your fellow audience members slowly working out what’s going on.
Underneath all this fun, a much more serious point is being made. In the UK today, child poverty is rife, and getting worse. Arts funding is being slashed, putting the lives and livelihoods of freelance arts workers into an ever more precarious position. The last Fortune card read reveals how close to the creatives of Brite Theater these concerns have hit.
This is a great production. Carding is assured and knows how to draw the best out of shyer members of the audience. Their recitation of largely unfamiliar Shakespearean text imbues the words with a meaning that you can immediately understand. The downfall of the various characters somehow feels more personal, because it involves your fellow audience members.
Like Brite’s previous works, Richard III (a one-person show), and Hamlet (an experience), we strongly believe that this will be a show that people are still talking about and participating in for years to come. Strongly recommended.
Timonopoly continues at the Scottish Storytelling Centre, at 12:20 daily, until August 12.
