A rare staging of ‘Timon of Athens’

“Timon of Athens’’ is one of the most obscure of Shakespeare’s plays, says Allyn Burrows, artistic director of the Actors’ Shakespeare Project, and the name is often mispronounced.

Now the troupe is producing what it says is the play’s professional Boston premiere, through June 13 at Midway Studios, with Burrows playing Timon under the direction of company member Bill Barclay.

“I’ve never seen it! I was at Shakespeare & Company for 17 years and we never did ‘Timon,’ ’’ Burrows says with a laugh. “We’ve got this guy Nick Walton coming over to consult with us, who’s apparently a ‘Timon’ expert, and he’s only seen it eight times. That gives you an idea of how often it’s produced.’’

One reason may be that apparently it’s not all Shakespeare’s work. “Timon’’ is thought to be partly written by his contemporary Thomas Middleton. Burrows says that as an actor he can tell the difference.

“I find that the stuff that is harder to memorize, Middleton probably wrote, because it just doesn’t flow the same way that Shakespeare’s language does,’’ Burrows says. “All the significant parts, it’s like Shakespeare stepped in and said, ‘No, no, I’ll take it from here.’

“I’m of the notion it doesn’t really matter who wrote Shakespeare’s plays,’’ he adds, “because we actually have them and we call them Shakespeare and we perform them. These long arguments over whether the Earl of Oxford wrote them or Middleton or Fletcher or Shakespeare or Joe DiMaggio, as far as I’m concerned [don’t matter]. . . . We’re not trying to find out who to pay royalties to.’’

Barclay saw a rare production of “Timon’’ in 2008 at Shakespeare’s Globe in London, and he came back saying “we should attack it,’’ Burrows said.

In the 1607 play, Timon is a wealthy Athenian nobleman who gives generously to friends, hangers-on, and even the government. But when his bills come due and he reaches out for help, they all desert him, leaving him ruined, a misanthropic hermit bent on revenge.

“I’m playing Timon, and it’s a bear on the guy playing Timon,’’ Burrows says, cracking up. “You spend the second act of the play in your underwear lying in the dirt and kind of railing at people as they come. It’s got some comic appeal, at least on a dark level. But it’s curious why it isn’t produced more. It’s a perfectly decent, easy-to-follow story. It’s been a lot of fun.’’

And although the parallels are not direct, the themes of borrowing and insolvency carry their own currency these days, especially with a Greek financial crisis currently in the headlines.

Walton comes from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford-upon-Avon, and he will be coming to moderate and participate in a series of “Timon’’ talks, including a free lecture event at the Boston Athenaeum on May 25. ASP executive producer Sara Stackhouse said the company will have a wide range of ancillary events, including open rehearsals, community nights, and programs for everyone from Veterans Upward Bound to youths in several state juvenile facilities.

A big part of the fun, Burrows says, is working with such other actors as Steven Barkhimer, Will Lyman, and John Kuntz: “The strangest thing is you’re saying these words, it’s Shakespeare, but none of us have ever uttered them or heard them spoken to us before. So for those of us who’ve been kicking around for a while, it’s a real eye-opener.’’

Performances at Midway Studios, 15 Channel Center St., Fort Point. Tickets: $20-$47. www.actorsshakespeareproject.org, 866-811-4111.

Joel Brown can be reached at jbnbpt@gmail.com.