Rubin – Rubin Ajlouni

A casting becomes a mirror of a larger political narrative, in which Palestine also seems to be auditioning for the right to exist.

Rubin interweaves excerpts from Jasser by Abdelkader Benali with his own texts and performs a solo about identity, representation and the gaze of the other. In a play with audience and characters, he asks one question: who gets the role – and who decides?

An actor auditions for the role of Shylock. But as he plays, personal stories slide in: about his Palestinian identity, about the desire to embrace it, about the dream of acting, and about what it means to be seen – both as an artist and as a human being.

Benali’s play “Jasser” is now several decades old, but remains an interesting feed. The piece was written during the 2nd intifada, but even before the death of Yassar Arafat, even before the full military blockade of Gaza. The piece is still miles away from the genocidal violence that has taken place over the past year and continues to rage on. There is still “hope” running through “Jasser. Benali’s play carries figures like “Yassar Arafat” & “Shylock” as symbols to relate to. Both figures and hope seem to be lacking in today’s current events.

Concept, text and acting: Rubin Ajlouni Dramaturgy: Rashif El Kaoui Direction: Aïcha Cissé Inspired by excerpts from ‘Jasser’ by Abdelkader Benali. With the support of MESTIZO ARTS PLATFORM, HETPALEIS, Arenberg, wp zimmer, c o r s o, Schouwburg Noord/Merksemdok, Fonds voor Talentontwikkeling.