Saul Rubinek Will Star in New York Premiere of Playing Shylock
Martin Kinch will direct Mark Leiren-Young’s one-person drama.
Saul Rubinek in Playing Shylock
Dahlia Katz
Following an extended Canadian run, Starvox Entertainment will present the New York premiere of Mark Leiren-Young‘s Playing Shylock this fall.
Martin Kinch will direct the limited engagement, which begins October 16 prior to an official opening October 25 at Brooklyn’s Polonsky Shakespeare Center, home of Theatre for a New Audience. Performances are currently scheduled through December 7.
Saul Rubinek will again star. The actor, recently seen on stage in Ethan Coen‘s A Play Is a Poem, is known for his work on such series as Frasier, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Hunters, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Schitt’s Creek, as well as the films Wall Street, Against All Odds, Unforgiven, True Romance, The Family Man, and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.
Playing Shylock is set after a production of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice is canceled mid-performance because of public outcries about antisemitism. The actor playing Shylock (Rubinek, as a version of himself) asks how we are to share our common humanity when we are not able to share our stories with each other.
“Art has never been more essential than it is right now,” says Rubinek in a statement. “Theatre remains one of the last places where we come together to confront hard truths, to listen, to laugh, and to feel. Playing Shylock is my way of leaning into that urgency—of using the stage to spark connection when we need it most.”
“We
asked ourselves—can we talk about antisemitism and cancel culture at a
time when no one else is talking about it? Can we do it live on stage
while engaging in a true conversation with the audience? Can we make it
moving? Important? And fucking hilarious?” adds Corey Ross, CEO of Starvox Entertainment. “And the answer is yes.”
Kinch is joined on the creative team by set and costume designer Shawn Kerwin and sound designer Olivia Wheeler.
For tickets visit TFANAorg. Visit Playingshylock.com.