Celebrating his wealth, accepting nothing in return for his gifts, Timon soon discovers he is in deep debt but believes his friends will come to his rescue.

a) 1.1) The pre-banquet cocktail – Poet (Marcelo Morato) and Painter (Giovanna de Toni) discuss art and the dangers lurking behind wealth and power.
b) 1.2) Banquet scene – Timon (Vera Holtz), having saved Ventidius (Tatsu Carvalho) from debt and prison, will typically not accept his money back: “I gave it freely ever, and there’s none / Can truly say he gives, if he receives.”
c) 1.3) The truth about his hopeless financial situation is revealed to Timon (Vera Holtz) by his assistant Flavia (Alice Borges). Shocked, he soon recovers telling Flavia he is rich in friends, who will help him now.

Timon’s friends, the senators, on whom he has showered gifts and money, are sought out by his staff. Contrary to his expectations they all turn him down.

a) Scene where one of the senators, Ventidius, (Tatsu Carvalho) who Timon bailed out of jail, explains to Servilius (André Rosa) why he cannot help out, finding excuses like all the other “friends” who were sought out.
b) The debt collectors are back and Timon (Vera Holtz) despairs:” Cut my heart in sums” / “ Tear me, take me, and may the gods fall upon you”

Timon (Vera Holtz) leaves Athens and delivers the famous “Wall” soliloquy, damning Athens and all of mankind.

“Let me look back upon thee. O thou wall
That girdles in those wolves, dive in the earth
And fence not Athens!
…
Timon will to the wilds, where he shall find
The unkindest beast more kinder than mankind.”

Timon, (Vera Holtz) now homeless, takes to the back streets where he finds “gold” (scene a) and is soon sought out by friends, servants, false friends, demonstrators and thieves. Here (scene b) we see him with Apemantus (Tonico Pereira)

a) Timon, (Vera Holtz) hunts around for food and finds a bag of gold.
“Gold, gods, why this? I am no idle votarist…
This much will make black white, wrong, right …”

b) Apemantus (Tonico Pereira) seeks Timon out and tries to persuade him to return to Athens and take his revenge, but Timon refuses and they argue. Apemantus censors Timon for being so radical about everything:
“The middle of humanity thou never knowest,
But the extremity of both ends”

Background: Timon has given a lot of his gold to finance demonstrators (who have been lurking around from the beginning of the play ) led by Alcebiades – Iano Salomão). They promised to ravage Athens and overthrow those in power. Timon, certain that his revenge will be played out, prepares and goes to his grave by the sea.

a) Alcebiades has entered Athens but is persuaded to make “a deal” with Timon’s ex-friends, the senators Lepidus, (Charles Asevedo), Sempronia (Lorena da Silva) , Lucullus (Paulo Giardini), and Lepidus (Lourinelson Vladmir) and Ventidius (Tatsu Carvalho). Hence he takes his seat amongst the powerful, and nothing changes. All celebrate.

b) The play ends. Timon, from his grave by the sea, screams curses at them all:
“Scoundrels, vipers, thieves”

NB: This ending (b) was original to the Rio de Janeiro production.

Vera Holtz stars as Timon, Tonico Pereira as Apemantus, and Alice Borges as Flavia in a production of William Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens, directed by Bruce Gomlevsky.