Theatre for a New Audience Presents TIMON OF ATHENS Starring Kathryn Hunter

Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA; Jeffrey Horowitz, Founding Artistic Director) presents William Shakespeare's Timon of Athens, a co-production with Shakespeare Theatre Company in association with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Director Simon Godwin (Measure for Measure) returns to TFANA with a reimagining of his vibrant staging of Timon of Athens, which premiered at the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2018 - the first time the play had been staged with a female lead.

Timon of Athens will be performed on the Samuel H. Scripps Mainstage at Polonsky Shakespeare Center (262 Ashland Place, Brooklyn), TFANA's home, January 11-February 9.

The American company will be led by the internationally recognized Kathryn Hunter, whose Timon is re-gendered as female, as is the character of Alcibiades (Elia Monte-Brown).

Kathryn Hunter (1991 Olivier Award for her performance as Claire Zachanassian in Durrenmatt's The Visit) was born in the United States as Aikaterini Hadjipateras. Her parents are Greek, and she was raised and now lives in Britain. Hunter has an ongoing association with TFANA across numerous acclaimed performances most recently in Peter Brook and Marie-Hélène Estienne's Why?. Celebrated as "astonishing ... searing" (Guardian) and delivering "a titanic turn" (The Times, U.K.) Hunter's performance as Timon was first seen in the 2018 RSC production directed by Godwin. Hunter, memorable as Puck in TFANA's A Midsummer Night's Dream directed by Julie Taymor, has also been acclaimed as Cleopatra (RSC) and Richard III (London's Globe). In 1997, Hunter became the first British woman to play King Lear professionally in a production directed by Helena Knut-Hobson for the Leicester Haymarket Theatre.

Simon Godwin "combines a contemporary eye with a fastidious ear for Shakespeare's language" (Guardian). Godwin recently directed Antony and Cleopatra with Sophie Okonedo and Ralph Fiennes and Twelfth Night with Tamsin Greig as a transformed Malvolia, traditionally a male role. Both productions were for The National Theatre. Simon Godwin just succeeded Michael Kahn as artistic director of Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C.

Kathryn Hunter in an interview for Broadway World (November 2018) observed about Timon of Athens, "I love its parable form. It's almost like a fairy tale...'Once upon a time there was ... but then there's a very modern psychological reality ...about our relationship to money, and how money changes and corrupts other relationships. And Shakespeare's father went bankrupt and suffered enormously, so that was a very close relationship that Shakespeare must have observed."

Simon Godwin says, "I am so pleased that Kathryn will join me again on this journey, after creating a powerful and hypnotic Timon at the RSC. What an excellent opportunity to revisit this unexpectedly poignant play with a superb new company of actors, TFANA and STC."

Jeffrey Horowitz says, "In 1996, Theatre for a New Audience began working with Cicely Berry, the RSC's legendary Director of Voice. Cicely, who died in 2018, championed theatre inclusive of artists from all backgrounds. It's thrilling to be able to continue the work begun by Cicely and now collaborate with Kathryn and Simon and, as well with Greg Doran, artistic director of the RSC."

Timon of Athens is a play for all times. Hilarious, satiric, and deeply moving, it explores ingratitude, wealth, and what determines self-worth. Timon lives in a world of opulence, throwing wild parties and lavishing gifts on her friends. But, when Timon suddenly loses her fortune, almost everyone abandons her. Timon retreats to a forest, exchanging luxurious gowns for sackcloth, in a powerful journey of self-discovery. This production of Timon of Athens marks the 33rd of Shakespeare's 38-play canon that TFANA has produced. The last major New York production of Timon of Athens was 2011 (Public Theater) with Richard Thomas in the title role.

Timon of Athens features Shirine Babb (The Crucible - Bedlam Theatre Company; Macbeth and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway, Napoli, Brooklyn at Roundabout) as Lucia; Arnie Burton (The Winter's Tale with TFANA, Machinal and Peter and the Starcatcher on Broadway) as Apemantus; Helen Cespedes (Fefu and Her Friends with TFANA, The Cripple of Inishmaan on Broadway, Red Bull Theater's The School for Scandal) as Flaminia; Liam Craig (Julius Caesar with TFANA, Boeing-Boeing on Broadway, Keen Company's Later Life) as Demetrius; Zachary Fine (Measure for Measure with TFANA, China Doll on Broadway, Vanity Fair at Pearl Theatre) as Painter; Yonatan Gebeyehu (The Tank's I Thought I Would Die, But I Didn't, Everybody with Shakespeare Theatre Company, "Elementary") as Poet; Kathryn Hunter (at TFANA: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Why?, The Valley of Astonishment, Fragments -- CICT/Bouffes du Nord; Kafka's Money and The Emperor - Young Vic ) as Timon; Adam Langdon (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Manhattan Theatre Club's The New Englanders, "The Good Wife") as Lucilius; Elia Monte-Brown (Blithe Spirit at The Guthrie, Top Girls at The Huntington, "Shades of Blue") as Alcibiades; Julia Ogilvie (That Beautiful Laugh at La Mama, A Midsummer Night's Dream with Shakespeare Theatre Company, Macbeth with Chautauqua Theatre) as Jeweller; Daniel Pearce (Machinal and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee on Broadway, The Public's Mother of the Maid) as Sempronius; Dave Quay (Socrates and The Low Road at The Public Theater, The Heir Apparent with Classic Stage Company) as Lucullus; and John Rothman (Pericles with TFANA, Breakfast at Tiffany's and Prelude to a Kiss on Broadway) as Flavius. The creative team includes Soutra Gilmour (Set and Costume Design), Donald Holder (Lighting Design), Christopher Shutt (Sound Design), and Michael Bruce (Composer).

Performance Schedule, Ticketing, and Other Information

Performances of Timon of Athens will take place Saturday, January 11 at 7:30pm and Sunday, January 12 at 7:30pm; Saturday, January 18 at 2:00pm and 7:00pm; Tuesdays through Fridays, January 14-24, January 28, January 31, and February 7 at 7:30pm; Saturdays, January 25, February 1, and February 8 at 2pm and 7:30pm and Sundays, January 19, January 26, February 2, and February 9 at 2pm.

Timon of Athens opens Sunday, January 19.

Theatre for a New Audience is committed to economic access and offers tickets at a wide range of prices.

$20 New Deal: all performances. Age 30 and under or full-time students of any age. May be purchased online, over the phone, or at the box office, in advance or day-of, with valid ID(s) proving eligibility required at pickup. Use code NEWDEAL.

$20 Brooklyn Pass: all performances. Employees of participating Brooklyn non-profit organizations through Brooklyn Pass program.

Special Discounts: TFANA offers special discounts available by joining its mailing list at www.tfana.org.

$90-$100: all performances.

$115 Premium Seats: all performances.

Tickets are on sale now at www.tfana.org, 866.811.4111, and the Polonsky Shakespeare Center box office. Polonsky Shakespeare Center is located at 262 Ashland Place, Brooklyn, NY 11217.