The Making of Timon - Staging the Play

Running time: 5.38mins

The creative team behind the National Theatre's 2012 production of Timon of Athens talk about their staging of the play and the motivations for bringing this rarely staged and problematic play by William Shakespeare and Thomas Middleton to the stage.

Featured in this video: Nicholas Hytner, Simon Russell Beale, Cathal Cleary, Tim Hatley and Ben Power.

Shakespeare

There has been a long history of Shakespeare productions at the National Theatre, and the history of the creation of the National is inextricably linked with William Shakespeare. Effingham Wilson’s proposal for a national theatre was partly inspired by the purchase of Shakespeare’s Birthplace for the nation in 1847. In his 1848 Proposition for a National Theatre he set out a claim that a theatre, ‘a house for Shakespeare’, would be an important complement to the preservation of Shakespeare’s house. This collection of videos is from recent Shakespeare productions.

Voice work on ‘To be, or not to be…’

Jeannette Nelson works on Hamlet speech with actor Ferdinand Kingsley.
Voice work on ‘O what a noble mind…’

Jeanette Nelson works on Ophelia speech with actor Ellie Turner.
Text work on blank verse

Chris Saul works on a blank verse speech from Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing.
Conleth Hill on Parolles

Conleth Hill talks about playing Parolles in All's Well That Ends Well
Costume for All's Well That Ends Well

Rae Smith talks about designing costumes for All's Well That Ends Well.
George Rainsford on Bertram

George Rainsford talks about the difficulties of playing Bertram in All's Well That Ends Well
Michelle Terry on Helena

Michelle Terry talks about the role of Helena in All's Well That Ends Well.
Playing the King

Oliver Ford Davies talks about playing the King of France in All's Well That Ends Well.
Using video in performance

Rae Smith talks about designing and using animation as a scenic background.
'O that this too too solid flesh...'

Rory Kinnear performs the first half of the soliloquy.
Directing Act 2, Scene 4 of Twelfth Night

Nicholas Hytner delivers a workshop on how to direct a scene from Twelfth Night.
The Making of Timon - Staging the Play

The creative team behind Timon of Athens talk about their staging of the play.
The Making of Timon - Behind the scenes

Creatives from the production talk about the process of Making Timon of Athens for the National Theatre.
The Making of Timon - Building the set

A timelapse of the fit up process for Timon of Athens in the Olivier Theatre at the National Theatre.
The Making of Timon: Timon the character

This film explores the character of Timon in William Shakespeare's Timon of Athens.
Simon Russell Beale in conversation

Simon Russell Beale talks about his career including his role in Timon of Athens.
Simon Russell Beale on the wedding scene in Much Ado About Nothing

Simon Russell Beale talks about one of the most impressive and complicated scenes written by Shakespeare.
Beatrice and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing

Simon Russell Beale and Zoë Wanamaker talk about playing Beatrice and Benedick in the 2007 production of Much Ado About Nothing.
Creating Elsinore

Where is Elsinore? Why is Hamlet so often revisited? Discover more about the play and the space in which it takes place.

The Making of Timon - Staging the Play

Shakespeare

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