Nagorik Natyasampradaya's upcoming production

Director of the play Ataur Rahman said, "Troilus and Cressida is widely regarded as one of Shakespeare's most difficult and consequently rarely staged plays. The dramatic work is filled with comic elements, yet it's more tragedy than comedy. It's rooted in the decade-long Trojan War, yet it centres around a star-crossed love story, reminiscent of the much more popular Romeo and Juliet.

"The setting for the story is the long running Trojan War. Troilus, a brother of Paris, falls in love with Cressida. She loves him, too, but plays hard to get. The plot covers the heroes from Greek mythology, including Ulysses, Achilles and Ajax and their plans to try to end the war. The themes cover betrayal and jealousy. And Syed Shamsul Haq has made a wonderful translation of the classic, maintaining the themes and rhythm of the original play."

On the directorial approach, Ataur said that he would give emphasis to verbal acting. Ataur said, "The play is full of war scenes. And mediocre body language of the actors in presenting the war, sometimes becomes ridiculous. So, I'll not go for realistic presentation of any directorial composition. I don't even like to use any striking design in the play. The actors' bold performance is the backbone of the production."

Nagorik will stage Troilus and Cressida this August.