The Elif Collective Presents:
TIMON OF ATHENS
Timon of Athens is a new adaptation of Shakespeare’s unfinished play, directed by Abigail Duclos.
Timon of Athens is regarded as one of Shakespeare’s “Most difficult plays.” There is no record of it ever being performed during Shakespeare’s lifetime, and it is often considered to be an unfinished collaboration (likely with Thomas Middleton).
This new version of the play, adapted by Abigail Duclos and Isabel Beatriz Tongson, brings the rarely-performed story to life in new and exciting ways, enriching the story of greed, false friendship, excess, and misanthropy through a reimagined modern setting, gender-swapped characters, discussions of class and rainbow capitalism, an added background of youth and grief, and original moments of song and dance.
Adaptation: Abigail Duclos (Lead Adaptor), Isabel Tongson (Lead Adaptor), Shayan Hooshmand (Contributor), Henry Alper (Contributor), Andrés Goldzsmidt (Original Devisor), Allison Letterman (Original Devisor), Santiago Mallan (Original Devisor), Niraj Nair (Original Devisor), Maya Weed (Original Devisor)
Timon of Athens is the story of a young, rich, and fabulous Manhattanite whose fortune dwindles after the sudden death of both of his parents.
This adaptation of Shakespeare's unfinished play drops you into Timon's world of luxury and longing. Dive head first into the meretricious tatters, plastic food, false friends, glittering masks, and nepo-baby debauchery.
Timon of Athens was performed at Alchemical Studios (50 W 17th St., New York, NY).
Creative Team: Abigail Duclos (Director), Isabel Beatriz Tongson (Dramaturg), Ellie Houlihan (Choreographer), Sabrina Carlier (Intimacy Director)
Cast: Jason Maina (Timon), Kiana Mottahedan (Flavius), Marvelyn Ramirez (Apemantus), Melody Chen (Lucullus & Others), and John R. Howley (Ventidius & Others)
Design Team: Maya Weed (Scenic Designer), Zee Hanna (Lighting Designer), Jasmine Richards (Co-Sound Designer, Lyricist, & Composer), Zoe Stanton-Savitz (Co-Sound Designer), Bella Williams (Co-Costume Designer), Aly Hernandez (Co-Costume Designer), Sophie Craig (Co-Mask Designer), Mimi Wu (Co-Mask Designer), and Abigail Duclos (Co-Mask Designer & Lyricist).
Production Team: Abigail Duclos (Director, Lead Adaptor, & Lyricist), Shayan Hooshmand (Producer & Marketing Team Member), Sophie Craig (Producer & Graphic Designer), Marie-Josée Bourelly (Producer), Zoe Stanton-Savitz (Stage Manager), Allison Letterman (Assistant Stage Manager), Sabrina Carlier (Marketing Team Member), and Elsa Hana Chung (Marketing Team Member)
Photos in the gallery directly below taken by Ellie Houlihan and John R. Howley.
Flavius in “Poor Rich Orphan Boy,” an original song written by Abigail Duclos and Jasmine Richards
“Paints himself to look pretty for this pathetic display / He’s a shitty, cheap portrait in a million dollar frame / What he touches turns to gold, ‘fore he snorts a line of it. / While I’m living off the coins that I find in his vomit.”
Flavius in “Sippy Cup (Bloody Meat),” an original song written by Jasmine Richards and Abigail Duclos
“A sated man bastes all his pride / In how much of himself he’s eaten up. / He gobbles down the skin he’s shed, / Sips his morals with his champagne in a sippy cup.”
Photos in the gallery below by Sabrina Carlier
