Timon Of Athens Mystery Cache

A puzzle that requires no special knowledge of mathematics, cryptography, or steganography.

This cache is inspired by Shakespeare's tragedy Timon Of Athens. A synopsis of the play as well as the full text can be found here. Being one of Shakespeare's little known plays, there have been no noteworthy film or TV adaptations of this play.

"He has almost charmed me from my profession, by persuading me to it."
(Act IV, Scene III)

Like all my other Shakespeare caches, you do not have to read the play to find the cache.

The Cache

I spent a lot of time in London in my younger years, much of that time sitting in theatres enjoying some of the best theatre found in the English speaking world. Many days, I could attend two plays a day - a matinée and an evening performance. On a few days, I even managed to see three plays in one day. What does this have to do with Timon. Well, even though this is not one of Shakepeare's better known plays, I saw a production of it directed by Trevor Nunn at the Young Vic theatre and it is the best Shakespeare production I've attended in England. So, starts my tour of theatres of London.

Seeing Theatre In London

Here is some random information about seeing theatre in London. Note that this information is circa 1997 - the last time I was in London. I have no idea how accurate the information is now.

• Theatre term translations.
• • Stalls seats = Orchestra seats
  • Dress or Royal Circle = First Balcony
  • Interval = Intermission
  • Sweets = Candy
  • West End = the primary Theatre District in London (like Broadway in New York)
  • Fringe = the secondary theatres in London (like Off-Broadway in New York)
  
  
• I've almost never paid full price for theatre tickets in London. I almost always could find a show I was interested in seeing at the half price booth. The booth is very crowded when it first opens up. You can save a lot of grief by going later in the day. The lines are usually gone and they typically still have tickets available for most of the shows. Another advantage of going later is you get no choice in your seat location - they sell their tickets in order from front to back. If you buy too early, you can end up very close to the stage which is not ideal for enjoying most shows. Buying tickets later in the day usually gets you farther back which is good.
• For the really popular shows, you can always try lining up for returns. About an hour before the performance, the theatre will start selling tickets (at full price) that are returned from the various ticket agents. It's very hit or miss. There's no guarantee that there will be any returns for that evening. But, these are usually the best seats in their price range since these were being sold by the ticket agents.
• The National Theatre often sells out their shows. However, they hold back a number of tickets for each performance and sell them at their box office the morning of the performance.
• Most theatres have bars! You can get a drink before the performance and during intermission. This is a two-edged sword. I can't tell you how many times I've had a pint or two just before the show and then found myself desperately needing to use the facilities halfway through the act.
• During intermission, ushers come into the theatre and sell ice cream and candy off trays they wear around their necks a lot like those cigarette ladies in the old movies.
• Programs are not free! You have to pay for them. Almost all theatres will provide a single sheet that lists the cast for free.
• During intermission, the theatre will bring down their fire curtain for a moment. It's a fireproof curtain meant to prevent fires moving from the stage into the audience. It's a law that they have to show a working fire curtain if they have one.

The Puzzle

This puzzle brings you on a tour of some of the great theatres in London and some of the great productions I've seen at those theatres.

		I think this is the most striking theatre in London with its huge Victorian facade. It seems like only one production was at this theatre - Les Miserables. I've seen hundreds of plays and musicals in my life and this stands out as the most awesome production I've seen. I love the music and I especially love the stage design. I was blown away by its inventiveness allowing a musical with about 30 scenes to flow seamlessly through those scene changes without a single break. It's exhausting to watch, I can't imagine performing in it. I've actually seen Les Miz four times - twice in Boston and twice in London. The last time I saw it here was November 5, 1992 and sat in seat 19 T in the stalls.
The Palace
		I saw An Inspector Calls in this theatre on August 22, 1994. This is an old chestnut play that can be pretty dated and boring nowadays. But the National Theatre took this old boring play and put it in a sparkling production that keeps you on the edge of your seat. I've actually seen this production three times because I kept dragging people to see it I was so impressed. At this particular performance, I sat in seat N-17 in the stalls.
The Aldwych
		My son was named after this theatre. I saw a production of The Canterbury Tales here on MAugust 12, 1994. At that performance, I'm fond of saying I made my West End stage debut. There is a part of the play that requires some audience participation. I was sitting in the second row from the stage on the end - seat BB-1, so I made a good target. I was brought up on stage and put in bed with a buxom, young wench. Then her husband comes home... lots of hilarity ensued. I had a very memorable time at this theatre.
The Garrick
		I saw The Woman In Black in this theatre on January 17, 1995. Some of the fondest memories I have of plays are the ones that should really be bad or boring but turn out to be great. This play is almost two hours long with only two actors mostly just talking to each other and almost no set. A sure formula for boredom. I couldn't believe how suspenseful, scary, and engaging it turned out to be. It really showed off the power of great acting and directing. I sat in seat F-10 in the dress circle.
The Fortune
		I saw The Wind In The Willows in this theatre on April 6, 1991. Sure, it's a children's play, but the production was amazing. I've seen many plays in this theatre but this was the only one that made use of the drum elevator in the middle of the stage. It's basically a round drum in the middle of the stage that can raise and lower. In this play, the underground homes of some of the characters would raise up as the characters went underground into their homes. It was a brilliant effect. I sat in seat F-47 in the circle for this performance.
The Olivier at the National
		I saw Rosencrantz And Gildenstern Are Dead here on October 20, 1987. Tom Stoppard is one of my favorite playwrights (after Shakespeare of course). I had been looking forward to seeing at least a few of his plays performed in London. This one was a lot of fun. I sat in seat D-19 in the royal circle as I enjoyed this performance.
The Piccadilly
		I saw Six Degrees Of Separation here on November 6, 1992. The highlight of this play was Stockard Channing in the lead role. She was great, but was also surrounded by a great cast making this a really enjoyable performance. I sat in seat Q-15 of the stalls for this performance.
The Comedy
		I saw ART here on March 20, 1997. This became one of my favorite plays after seeing this performance. A comedy about three friends and the disruption that's caused when one of them pays an enormous amount of money for a "work of art". It's not a comedy where you roll in the aisles, but I smiled all the way through it and for hours afterwards. I sat in seat D-6 in the royal circle next to one of my closest friends who is no longer with us.
Wyndhams
		I saw Becket here on December 12, 1991. Two great actors - Derek Jacobi and Robert Lindsay - playing King Henry II and Thomas Becket in the absorbing performance about the battle between the crown and the church. Spoiler - the church dies and the crown gets whipped. A special treat was the appearance of Andrew Jarvis from the English Shakepeare Company. At this performance, I sat in seat L-14.
The Theatre Royal, Haymarket
		I saw Les Liaisons Dangereuse here on May 11, 1987. This is the first time I had ever seen Alan Rickman. His performance as an evil, manipulative gentleman was amazing. I've been a big fan of Rickman's ever since. I sat in seat D-13 in the royal circle.
The Ambassadors
		I saw Miss Saigon here on March 7, 1990. The fall of Saigon doesn't seem like a great subject matter for a musical and it wasn't. But seeing the original cast perform was a treat for me. Seeing a helicopter land on stage was a pretty cool effect - almost worth the half-price ticket in itself. I recommended it to some friends who went to see it and hated it. I stopped recommending it after that. I sat in seat C-22 in the dress circle at this performance.
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
		My wife and I saw 900 Oneoanta here on August 10, 1994. Some couples have "their song", well my wife and I have "our play" and this is it. We both enjoyed this production immensely and we quote lines from the play to each other often. My wife was excited to see Jon Cryer in one of the pricipal roles. I had not known him, but I've been a fan since this show. My wife sat in seat K-32 in the stalls and I sat next to her on her right.
The Old Vic
		I saw The Phantom Of The Opera here on August 12, 1990. I'm not a great fan of this musical, but it was a group event. For the first time, a group of 12 close friends all went to London together. We all went to see this play together as a group making it a fun and memorable night. The productions was pretty good too. This is the only London play that I ever purchased tickets more than 24 hours in advance. I sat in seat H-16 in the dress circle.
Her Majesty's
		I saw Twelfth Night here on March 23, 1991. Peter Hall is probably one of the most acclaimed directors in England known for his avante-garde productions of Shakespeare. I didn't know what to expect from him on this one. Surprisingly, it was a classic staging making this a very enjoyable and funny Shakespeare comedy. I sat in seat H-18 in the stalls at this performance.
The Playhouse

Please Note

• The cache is available 24/7/365, but you may find parking easier if you go for it on weekends or after 6 PM on weeknights.
• The cache is a log-only micro with room for a few coins - you'll have to bring your own pencil.
• The cache contains some English coins. Please restrict trades to coins from England.
• You can check your answers for this puzzle on Geochecker.com.