Play In a Day: 'Timon of Athens' at Union Theatre

Play In A Day is Bell Shakespeare’s lively script reading series celebrating rarely read classics. Actors and director have one day to rehearse as a group before standing script-in-hand in front of an audience. This stripped-back performance allows the audience a rare insight into what it takes to bring Shakespeare’s work from the page to the stage.

Timon of Athens focuses on a wealthy and generous nobleman, who is deserted by his friends when he falls on hard times. This rarely performed play is perhaps Shakespeare’s darkest meditation on human nature. It’s a timely warning about the corrupting influence of money, and the corrosive impact hatred can have on our society.

Professor David McInnis, who is editing Timon for the Arden Shakespeare 4th Series, joins Bell Shakespeare director Tim Paige to share his insights into the play.