12 UCW AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 3, 2019
WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM
Since 2012 Sweet Tea Shake-
speare Theater has been enter-
taining Fayetteville. But its newest
production, "Timon of Athens,"
debuted Aug. 21 in Hope Mills.
Bringing "Timon of Athens" to
Hope Mills was the result of a
partnership between Sweet Tea
Shakespeare Theater and the
newly formed Hope Mills Creative
Art Council.
"Timon of Athens" is the story of
the too-generous Athenian noble-
man Timon. Timon shares his
wealth liberally with his "friends,"
hosting lavish parties and lending
financial support to their many
endeavors. Apemantus warns
Timonthat his friends are taking
advantage of his generosity, but
Timon refuses to heed the warn-
ings, saying, "O, that men's ears
should be / To counsel deaf, but
not to flattery!"
He's further warned by Fla-
vius, his servant, that his wealth
is dwindling. But again, Timon
ignores the warnings, preferring to
give money rather than his time,
binding his friends to him with his
generosity.
Eventually, Timon finds himself
destitute and without friends to
lend him their support. He leaves
Athens to live in a cave. While
scavenging for roots, he discovers
a cache of gold, which he squan-
ders on ill-conceived plots to ruin
Athens — and the friends who
betrayed him.
The play was performed by
Sweet Tea's youth company,
"Green Tea." Green Tea is a year-
long program designed to intro-
duce 12- to 17-year-old students
to the technical elements of acting
and the intricacies of Shakespear-
ean language. It culminates in a
full performance.
Sweet Tea Shakespeare Theater
is known for its minimalist ap-
proach to Shakespeare produc-
tions. The group limits the use of
sets, props and costumes, prefer-
ring instead to focus on the story-
telling element of the production.
The shows also include live music
and often original songs. And
unless there's inclement weather,
they perform outdoors, providing
refreshments to their guests and
creating the same atmosphere in
which Shakespeare's plays were
originally enjoyed.
"Timon of Athens" was per-
formed at the historic Moulder-
Warner House, owned by Hope
Mills Mayor Jackie Warner, who
is one of the founding members
of the Hope Mills Creative Art
Council. The house is on a spa-
cious corner lot just off Main
Street. It's traditional white col-
umns, hydrangeas and magnolia
trees lend themselves to its idyllic
charm. The members of Sweet Tea
Shakespeare Theater and the Hope
Mills Creative Art Council were
pleased with the night's success
and are looking forward to many
more joint ventures. They have a
production tentatively scheduled
for March 2020 and another sched-
uled for June.
Up next for Sweet Tea is "Ham-
LIT," set for Friday, Oct. 4, and Fri-
day, Nov. 1, at the Arts Council of
Fayetteville/Cumberland County.
It will show Thursday, Oct. 10, at
Dirtbag Ales Brewery and Tap-
room and Friday and Saturday,
Oct. 18-19, and Friday and Satur-
day, Nov. 8-9 at Hugger Mugger
Brewing in Sanford. "HamLIT" is
also set to take the stage Friday,
Oct. 11; Thursday, Oct. 24; Sat.,
Oct. 26, at Paddy's; Sunday, Oct. 13,
at Fainting Goat Fuquay-Varina; and
Sunday, Oct. 27, at Fainting Goat in
Benson
Behold follows in the lineup
Dec. 5-7 and 12- 14 at Holy Trinity
Episcopal Church and Wednesday,
Dec. 4, at Methodist University.
For ticket information visit www.
sweetteashakespeare.com
Sweet Tea Shakespeare debuts
new production in Hope Mills
by ELIZABETH BLEVINS
EVENT
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