Created by Emily Carding
Review by Marina Funcasta
The Scottish Storytelling Centre
Not a gamer myself, I can’t help but sense a childish trepidation any time a board game or card game are mentioned; keeping up with the rules, the competition, the stakes – it’s a lot to bear in mind. You can imagine my initial reservations, therefore, towards Emily Carding’s Timonopoly. Timon of Athens but Monopoly; the Bard meets the card(s). And testing as it was, I left feeling that the rules of conquering both were remarkably similar, and easier than I expected.
Fortune has a lot to do with it. Embodying the role, Carding makes sure we understand the power they hold. Timon may have all the ‘money’, but Fortune is really the one who calls the shots. This is most successful when Carding is improvising, interacting with their audience of players in organic and direct ways. A show which relies on audience interaction, it is true that Carding gives as much as they are given. The brightest moments were those when they charmingly pokes fun at their viewers, commanding a stage presence which is admirable and captivating.
It is when they sinks into Shakespeare, however, that Carding’s command of the craft is best demonstrated. It is a shame that the transitions are not smoother; such sudden shifts in language and tone can be jolting. This being said, I suppose it largely depends on the levels of knowledge demonstrated from the audience; in my audience, for instance, there was no doubt a room full of Shakespeare aficionados who fed off Carding’s more tragic, dramatic monologues.
As the play progresses, it is easy to fall into the traps of repetition. Similar cards and mini-games pop-up, which can make the game feel endless. However, darkness surfaces as soon as Timon’s fall, and the fall of the other players, become unavoidable, and what results is a profound spiral into a much more ominous type of game; deception of the mind, the power of money, and power more generally become clear themes in Carding’s work, anchoring the trivial mini-games in a much more solid, social framework. I certainly left with a keen understanding that it’s all fun and games, until painful reality kicks in.
Amirable and Captivating
Timonopoly runs at The Scottish Storytelling Centre
Running time: Sixty minutes without interval
Photo credit: Emily Carding
Review by Marina Funcasta (contact@corrblimey.uk)
Marina is halfway through an English literature degree at Edinburgh University, wherein she has been (considerably) involved in the drama scene: enjoying performing with their Shakespeare Company shows, but also modern takes on Arthur Miller. However, Marina’s interests are wide-ranging under the theatre genre – enjoying abstract, more contemporary takes on shows (with a keen interest in Summerhall)
