Timon of Athens at The National Theatre

I had forgotten what a wonderful space is the Olivier Theatre. The largest of the three that make up The National Theatre, when it is full it creates a superb atmosphere. The open revolving stage and the fan shaped auditorium needs a big production to do it justice, and this is exactly what we get with a modern day version of Timon of Athens. It had received terrific reviews and it lived up to it's reputation. It was so good, you wonder why the RSC had not performed it for the last twelve years, especially as it fully resonates with the current Greek debt crisis. And the play is all about wealth, money, moneylenders (these days it would be banks) and debt. You could just believe that Timon was a metaphor for Greece itself. Inheriting wealth, he gives it all away, just to be a friend of the rich. But when the time comes when it has been surpassed by debt, and the moneylenders come calling, his so called friends don't want to know.

In the second half of the play, we see a destitute Timon pushing his supermarket trolley around a deserted building site, unable to find the redemption offered along the way. It reminded me so much of the fall from grace of King Lear. I believe the success of the production is all down to Nicholas Hytner who has been the Artistic Director of The National Theatre since 2003. He is the genius behind One Man Two Guvnors. His modern staging of Timon is breathtaking. There is a huge cast who fill the big spaces of the stage so that there is almost too much to see. It could all be happening in London itself, the bankers, the riots, the city. The acting, of course, is first rate and in Simon Russell Beale as Timon, we have a great Shakespearean actor at the height of his powers.