Timon of Athens
The popular Timon of Athens is known to give gifts to his friends and hold great feasts, flaunty his wealth. But when he runs out of money and the creditors come calling, his friends turn him away. Condemning both his friends and the city of Athens, Timon leaves to contemplate how to best take his revenge.
At a Glance
Revenge • Classical Setting • Politics
Productions, Readings & Workshops
Paperback & eBooks
Timon of Athens
By William Shakespeare
Translation by Kenneth Cavander
In a respectful, but not reverent, adaptation, Kenneth Cavander reimagines Timon of Athens for the twenty-first century.
Never performed in Shakespeare’s lifetime, Timon of Athens presents an intriguing puzzle for contemporary audiences. The disjointed plot and many gaps in the story have led scholars to believe it was a collaboration between Shakespeare and Thomas Middleton, a younger writer known for his satires, and productions for decades have faced choices about the most effective way to present the play. In this translation, Cavander acts as a third playwright in this collaborative process. Wrangling the voices of Shakespeare and Middleton on the page, Cavander unveils poetic lines and phrases that have sat stubbornly in the cobwebs, cutting these voices through the time barrier and into the world as we know it.
Production History
June 1, 2019
Play On! Festival NYC
Rehearsal and Staged Reading directed by Andy Wolk with full cast as part of the Play On! Translation Festival in NYC.
Produced by:
Play On! / Classic Stage / Oregon Shakespeare Festival
