As part of William Shakespeare's 400th death anniversary celebration, Theatre and Performance Studies Department of Dhaka University have teamed up with British Council Bangladesh for theatre production "Shakespeare Shoptok".

The production will be staged on April 23 and 24 at British Council in the capital as part of global celebration programme 'Shakespeare Lives'.

The production, which combines 11 scenes from seven plays by the bard, will be performed by third year students of Theatre and Performance Studies under the direction of the department's chair and promising theatre director Sudip Chakroborthy.

"Shakespeare Shoptok" combines seven classic tragedies and comedies—"Macbeth", "Hamlet", "Othello", "Romeo and Juliet", "Taming of the Shrew", "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "As You Like It". Eighteen students of the department will be performing in the production.   

Sudip Chakroborty said, "Theatre Department and British Council decided to celebrate Shakespeare at DU. We included the production in our syllabus."

"We selected soliloquies and duos to present Shakespeare in a new light. We are calling it Shakespeare Lives in Dhaka University," Sudip added.

The sets, lights, costumes and props have been designed by the performers. Students of the department are busy with demanding rehearsal sessions.