Noble Timon
TIMON OP ATHENS. By William Shakespeare. (Old Vic.) HOWEVER unsatisfactory Tinton of Athens may be as a play, it none the less contains some of Shakespeare's most mature poetry, and, for that reason, it is an interesting experi- ence to see it performed. Allowing for the fragmentary nature of the text, Michael Benthall did not do too badly with this pro- duction. His conception of Timon, in which the last scenes by the sea are reminiscent of the mood of reconciliation of the final plays, is not mine. I should have preferred something more full-blooded, but Mr. Benthall's reading was one which can be maintained. and the close of the play produced a number of fine tableaux and an atmosphere in which the poetry could work. Ralph Richardson's Timon was perhaps a little too distracted, His will, one felt, was not strong enough in the first place to bring about such a change in his character. The moral of the play is, I suppose. corruptio optinri pessima, but Sir Ralph's Timon never gives the impression of being on that scale at all. With Richard Gale as Lucilius and Dudley Jones as Apemantius he was well supported, and the sets surmounted a difficult problem with the minimum of fuss. Perhaps it would have been better to have a real antici- pation of Lear, but that was too much to hope for, and I doubt if there is any English actor at the moment who could give that impression with the material left to him by Shakespeare.
I propose to return to Brecht next week.
ANTHONY HARTLEY
Previous page
