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Interviews
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Saul Reichlin - Sholom Aleichem tours the world Philip Fisher interviews Saul Reichlin, a "professional Jew". If anyone ever wondered what Yiddish humorist, Sholom Aleichem, creator of Tevye, The Fiddler on the Roof, would have been like had he lived today, there is a chance to find out. Actor Saul Reichlin has spent the last three years becoming the modern personification of a writer whom he greatly admires. The shortish, stocky Reichlin is a relentless believer in his vocation. It is his remarkable determination that has ensured that he has been touring successfully in the guises of Russian peasants from the late 19th century for so long. Having conquered Edinburgh three times, sold-out the New End Theatre and had a successful run at the King's Head, the world is now inviting him to visit. After a kind of audition at the Jewish Theatre Festival in Washington earlier in the year, Darryl Roth has invited him to New York for a nine-week run at his off-Broadway D-R-2 Theatre in Union Square. With engagements at a number of cultural and community events his a minimum stay in the US and Canada will be three to four months. From there, he is torn between invitations to tour around the States or to take the show to Sydney and Melbourne, festivals in Romania and Prague or possibly to Israel. Either way, the future looks rosy and as he says "the US Jewish population could keep the show going for decades". Bucking received wisdom, he also believes that Sholom Aleichem ("an anti-heroic Jewish hero") is attractive to audiences of every cultural type. While the natural target would be the Jewish community, he has recently been nominated for the Ethnic and Multicultural Media Award. He may not have won, but to get on a list that has included the likes of Lord (Richard) Attenborough, Muhammad Ali, Nelson Mandela and Denzel Washington is remarkable. The fact that he is still performing is a testament to his great determination. On his journey back from Edinburgh in 2002, he was involved in a 70 m.p.h. collision with a lorry that led to a lengthy hospitalisation and nearly ended his career. Those who know Reichlin and the stock that he comes from will probably not be that surprised to see him back to fighting fitness remarkably quickly. He spent the first 25 years of his life in South Africa, the child of a Russian mother and the Turkish Palestinian father. His family was heavily involved in the anti-apartheid struggle. His cousin's house was a headquarters for the ANC. The Reichlin family wanted the usual kinds of things for their son. If medicine was not quite for him then a career in the law was the only alternative. Consequently, young Saul spent ten years studying the discipline and working as a corporate lawyer, first in South Africa and then in London. Even today, it is obvious from discussions with him that he must have been good at his job. The whole time, though, from school days he had enjoyed acting and eventually he saw two friends with less talent than his go to stage school. That made up his mind to follow his vocation and after several offers, he gave up his desk-bound job and went to Central School. From there, his career has been varied. He has worked on stage with the likes of Sir Ian McKellen, Anthony Minghella and Sir Alan Ayckbourn and spent a year working at the National Theatre, playing the lead in the Love for Love. In 1998, he was nominated for Best Actor for his performance in John Marans' Old Wicked Songs and he has also won a Best Director award in his native South Africa. His film and TV career probably peaked when he joined Danny Glover in Mandela, playing the part of Bram Fischer. He instantly sees the irony "I probably got the part because everyone assumed that Bram Fischer was Jewish. In fact, he came from an old Afrikaner family. When he became a black champion and a communist, it was almost like Hitler's son becoming a champion of the Jews". The insecurity that he felt on giving up a safe legal career for the stage took almost two decades to disappear but Sholom Aleichem has finally laid that ghost to rest. Reichlin is happiest working on his own. "One man shows have always been the most rewarding. You can really explore characters but you do have to be immensely self-disciplined". He first made his name in this field playing Tony Hancock in Heathcote Williams' Hancock's Last Half-Hour. He followed this with a play based on the work of the artist James McNeill Whistler and now his play about Sholom Aleichem, Now You're Talking is complemented by Gimpel the Fool, based on the writings of Nobel Prize Laureate Isaac Bashevis Singer. Becoming a professional Jew and playing the part of several rabbis has had a profound effect on the actor's life. "I became aware that being Jewish is not just an option as a result of doing this show. Most Jews rediscover their identity when they are under threat. I now understand that the threat is permanent and ongoing". There is some irony in the fact that Sholom Aleichem and his most famous character, Tevye, The Fiddler On the Roof, is travelling back to America from the UK for the first time in 40 years, not once but twice. Not only is Saul Reichlin proudly carrying his banner, but English actor Alfred Molina will be playing the part in a Broadway revival of the musical. If Saul Reichlin has his way, Now You're Talking will be a runaway success. Its combination of great acting, gentle humour and something much, much deeper richly deserves that and so does this determined actor.
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