For actor Saul Rubinek, the stage has always been a place to connect and to challenge. Now, in his latest role, he’s doing both.
Rubinek stars in “Playing Shylock,” a new play making its New York premiere at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center, home of Theatre for a New Audience in Fort Greene.
Written by Mark Leiren-Young and directed by Martin Kinch, the production follows a version of Rubinek himself, who addresses an audience after a performance of Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice” is canceled mid-show amid public outcry over antisemitism.
What You Need To Know
“Playing Shylock” is making its New York premiere at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center in Fort Greene, Brooklyn
The play stars veteran actor Saul Rubinek as a version of himself, addressing a canceled performance of “The Merchant of Venice”
Written by Mark Leiren-Young and directed by Martin Kinch, the production explores themes of antisemitism, identity and artistic freedom
The show runs through Dec. 7, with tickets available at playingshylock.com
“This play? This play with what’s happening in the city right now, where you can’t go into a synagogue without passing armed guards, the real danger of well-being is Merchant of Venice, oh, oh okay,” Rubinek says during the play, addressing the audience directly.
Like his character, Rubinek was born in a post-World War II refugee camp in Germany, where his father ran a Yiddish repertory theater company.
“I am in reality the child of Holocaust survivors. Why would the child of Holocaust survivors be doing an antisemitic play called ‘The Merchant of Venice?’ So the premise of this play is me explaining to the audience, this play should not have been cancelled, it’s not fair,” Rubinek said.
The production arrives in Brooklyn following a successful extended run in Canada. For Rubinek, whose seven-decade career spans roles in “Frasier,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “Hunters,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Wall Street,” “True Romance” and “Unforgiven,” returning to the stage feels like coming home.
“I’m the kind of guy people go, ‘I know you from somewhere,’” he said with a laugh.
Now, he’s hoping audiences will remember something else: the power of art to start difficult conversations.
“I doubt that there’s more than two plays in all of New York where the word antisemitism is uttered at all. At all. Why, why? What are theatres afraid of?” he asked.
Playing Shylock runs through Dec. 7. More information and tickets are available at playingshylock.com.