New Delhi, Sep 15 - A leading Italian theatre ensemble will reinterpret William Shakespeare's 'The Merchant of Venice', 'Romeo and Juliet' and 'Othello' in the ancient theatrical tradition of Commedia dell'Arte (comedy of art) here at the India Habitat Centre Sep 27.

The play, 'Mori a Venezia', to be staged by Italian troupe 'Il Carro dei Comici' and directed by Carlo Boso, will feature a comic love story inspired by the three plays.

Boso, a leading Commedia practitioner, is known to have contributed to the re-discovery and the spread of Commedia dell'Arte over the last two decades.

'The play will unfold with Jessica, daughter of Shylock, who falls in love with the pirate Sinbad, enraging her father. Antonio, a poor fisherman migrates to Venice in search of fortune and falls in love with Benilde, a noble mistress, who was courted by Shylock. Antonio takes loans from Shylock to obtain her favour and to make a fortune in America. Baldassarre and Pedrolino, servants of Antonio and Shylock respectively, help them realise their plans,' Maria Paola Benedetti, a member of the cast, told IANS in an e-mail from Pesaro, a town on the Adriatic coast in Italy.

The play, Benedetti said, will weave all three stories together.

'Our troupe, Il Carro dei Comici, uses techniques of expression, characteristic of the ancient Commedia dell'Arte, in which the actors improvise, sing, dance, perform and fight against the traditional masks of the Italian mainstream theatre,' the actress said.

The play was nominated to the 'Festival Internacional del Arte de la Comedia' of Alkala de Henares in Spain, 'International Festival of Gorzow Wlkp' in Poland and to the 'Tehran International Ritual - Traditional Theatre Festival' in Iran.