'Timon of Athens' is a long way from being one of Shakespeare's best plays, to me like many it seems it is something of a lesser work. Some great lines, some powerful scenes and a very interesting titular character, but on the odd side structurally, not always riveting dramatically and in some way there is an incomplete working-draft feel (which is what it essentially was). It still interests and lesser Shakespeare, as cliched as this sounds, is a lot better than most things.
As can be seen in this flawed but intriguing 1981 performance as part of the BBC Television Shakespeare series running from 1978 to 1985, consisting of productions of all of Shakespeare's plays, of which it is neither one of the best or worst. Put it somewhere around low middle, but it is a decent way and place to start if wanting an introduction to the play. If anybody has not watched a production of this series or have seen only a few at most, you are in for a treat even if some productions are better than others. For Shakespeare completests or wanting to see a series where all Shakespeare plays are produced in mostly good taste with strong casts the BBC Television Shakespeare series is a must. Enough of that and lets on with talking about this production.
Not everything worked for me but most of it did. Found the production values to be too dreary, especially the lighting which agreed should have been much better contrasted. Didn't get much sense of the play being set in Ancient Greece/Athens and more Elizabethan era on low budget.
Clownish/comic relief characters are problematic to play, some can be very funny and others can be very annoying as has been evidenced by previous and succeeding productions of the series, so this is not a one-off case. John Fortune and John Bird overplay Poet and Painter and severely grate rather than amuse, performed and directed in a way that felt almost out of kilter with everything else because it felt too much like a broad comedy sketch. The second half drags slightly but the dramatic limitations of the play is more at fault here.
So much to recommend though. Really liked the continuous long takes that are almost cinematic and open the drama up, and they didn't feel overused or self-indulgent. Jonathan Miller's, stepping in after a troubled behind the scenes after the premature firing of the original director, staging is highly intelligent throughout, with the primary theme of greed being emphasised without being done so too heavily, in fact all the themes are made clear while not being over-emphasised. He makes a real effort to overcome any faults the play has and succeeds in particularly the first half, the second half is not so successful through no fault of his own. Everything is done in good taste, everything makes sense and a lot of what he does fascinates, with nothing perplexing or offending.
Despite a good number of major truncations and omissions, the text provokes thought, is emotionally complex and still manages to be coherent structurally rather than too jumpy. The cast are the main reason, other than Miller's staging, as to why this production of 'Timon of Athens' works. Did have a problem with the performances of Poet and Painter, but the "serious" roles are handled in sterling fashion. Jonathan Pryce is magnificent in the title role, very moving and he makes Timon a fully rounded character. For me it's one of the best performances of the BBC Television Shakespeare productions. Also spot on are Norman Rodway's steely Apemantus, John Welsh's loyal and similarly touching Flavius and John Shrapnel's dignified Alcibades (a strong example of doing so much with something underdeveloped).
Overall, interesting and mostly well done but flawed. 7/10
