Sudip Chakroborthy is going to direct a Shakespearean comedy in London to be staged in the 400th birth anniversary of William Shakespeare in 2015.
Sudip will direct the Shakespearean classic The Taming of the Shrew in Bangla after a three-year project with the Bishwo Shahittya Kendro London.
Artistes from different other London based organisations including Udichi UK Sangshad, Satyen Sen Performing Arts and Docklands Theatre will perform in the play, sponsored by the British Council Bangladesh.
He recently conducted a two-week workshop in England where he trained a number of theatre enthusiasts for his upcoming production.
In the experimental production, Sudip plans to present the Shakespearean comedy in Sylheti dialect.
‘The idea is very interesting and challenging too. I have experience of directing one Shakespearean play. But this production will be essentially different from what I had done before,’ said Sudip Chakroborthy.
The play will be presented through the traditional art form of Bangladesh, using the traditional tunes of Hasan Raja, Radharaman, Shah Karim and others, the director said.
‘As I have decided to incorporate traditional performing arts of our country into the play, it will not be a conventional Shakespearean play usually seen on stage; rather it will be a lyrical drama,’ shared Sudip Chakroborthy.
Sudip Chakroborthy has already got appreciation by the local audience through presenting the Shakespearean classic Macbeth.
As part of the first phase Sudip visited England to conduct the aforesaid workshop held from October 26 to November 07. A number of 26 theatre enthusiasts from different expatriates’ cultural organisations – including Udichi UK Sangshad, Satyen Sen Performing Arts and Docklands Theatre in UK – attended the workshop.
Sudip shared his knowledge on theatre, improvisation and the traditional forms of performing art in the workshop.
‘The attendees were very keen to learn about theatre, improvisation and traditional Bangladeshi performing arts,’ said Sudip Chakroborthy.
The second phase of the venture will include the selection of the cast from the interested performers and the rehearsal of the play; the third and final phase will be the staging of the play for the audience in the UK.
As a teacher of department of theatre and performance studies at Dhaka University, Sudip Chakroborthy earlier attended similar workshops in the UK and USA.
Sudip has conducted workshops and delivered lectures in the UK in 2006 and 2010 being invited by Contact Theatre; and in 2008 being invited by Theatre Royal Stratford East. He has also conducted workshop at Kean University in New Jersey in the USA in 2012.
Sudip Chakroborthy has so far directed as many as 22 plays and has bagged awards like Ahad Parvez Award, Mohammad Zakaria Memorial Award, Tonusree Award and many other prestigious bursaries.
-With New Age input
