A Shakespearean Effort

23 April 2013 | 10:08 am | Dave Drayton

"I was realising in this play that there’s no one that is evil, the driving evil force is the currency and the gold and the way that we lift gold and money above friendship, love and compassion.”

“The play, as it's written, is a fucking terrible play,” director Erica Brennan suggests of Timon Of Athens. That being said, it wasn't enough to deter her from putting it on, and nor should it be enough to deter you from the problem solving production of the problem play that Brennan has created; one that includes a restructuring, a change of gender for protagonist Timon, and the reluctant inclusion of a ticket price.

For Brennan, the intrigue of the play began when she noticed parallels between her practice as an artist and the life of Timon; both offer gifts freely. “My initial desire to put on the play was actually far more personal,” Brennan explains, “I was looking at the lead character of Timon and just going I know what it is to feel that level of betrayal from ideals that you feel should probably keep you really well. I was realising in this play that there's no one that is evil, the driving evil force is the currency and the gold and the way that we lift gold and money above friendship, love and compassion.”

Fittingly then, and in act that mirrored the gift-giving that preludes Timon's demise, Brennan's original concept for the play was to perform it for free as a gift to the audience from the company she and Lucy Watson present theatre via, This Hour. “It wasn't going to be performed in a theatre, Lucy and I were very interested in examining practice and the way that theatre is created for people, and so we wanted to create this piece as a gift, so we were going to do it all with no money exchanging hands anywhere, we contacted a group of friends who were actors that wanted to just do a really deep investigation of a play. It was like we're not going to worry about whether it's relevant, whether it's going to sell, we're not going to worry about promoting ourselves to anybody, this is just for us, and so we tried to base the whole experience on this gift giving idea, we were going to do a single performance in Lucy's backyard and invite all our friends and do a gift exchange in order to get them in,” says Brennan.

Concurrent to all this was some well-intentioned pressure from 505 Theatre, where Brennan had been “wandering around in development land” for some time. The stars aligned, the stage shifted from a backyard to a grungy art space and Timon was set as the first full-length production for This Hour. “It certainly gained momentum,” jokes Brennan, “But we've always tried to keep this essence of gift giving and it makes sense with Timon, because Timon is essentially a man – or woman, in this version – who falls down because of all the gifts she gives away and leaves nothing for herself. So we're working with the positive acts of gift giving using a play that doesn't necessarily go so well with that.”

While you may not be able to barter your way in to one of the shows, you can at least buy your ticket knowing you'll leave the theatre having witnessed a poetic consideration of the currency you used to get in.

WHAT: Timon Of Athens
WHEN & WHERE : Thursday 25 to Sunday 28 April, Old 505 Theatre.