Like Lear, Timon has two friends who do not betray her; one, taking the role of the fool, is the cynic Apemantus (Arnie Burton). Having refused gifts from Timon when she was rich, he does not find her alfresco poverty off-putting. The other steadfast friend, the soldier Alcibiades, has been vastly rejiggered in an attempt to give the play a timely hook. But the aspects of it that still reward investigation — the satire of sycophants and the tortured portrait of Timon — do not jibe comfortably with this Occupy Athens interpretation. Timon of AthensTickets Through Feb. 9 at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center, Brooklyn; 866-811-4111, tfana.org.

Source: New York Times January 20, 2020 02:37 UTC