Shattwik Natya Samprodaya, a theatre group from Mirpur, was staging the play on the opening day of its three-day Moliere Drama Festival 2003. Sponsored by Walton, the festival also featured Bhaddornok by Natya Chakra and Konjus by Lok Natyadal (TSC). Eminent theatre personality Mamtaz Uddin Ahmad inaugurated the drama festival.

Founded in November 1994, Shattwik Natya Samprodaya has already earned a place in the country's theatre arena. The group has so far staged ten productions including two adaptations. The Walton Moliere Darma Festival 2003 has been the biggest function held by Shattwik to celebrate the group's 4th biannual conference.

Jean Baptist P Moliere is one of the greatest playwrights the European literature has ever produced. Born in the centre of France's art and culture Paris in 1622, he is considered second only to Shakespeare of England. Moliere chiefly wrote comedies, but he never simply aimed at providing laughter. Through his comic plots he always endeavoured to strike serious criticism of the loopholes in the society.

Shattwik's presentation of Pezgee is an adaptation of Moliere's Le Medecin malgre lui (The Doctor in spite of Himself). The play depicts a carpenter named Pezgee Mia, who is addicted to drinks and invents theories in favour of drinking. His wife, fed up with Pezgee's indolence, creates a situation in order to give him a good lesson. Trapped into his wife's intrigue unknowingly, Pezgee has to pretend to be a Hekim (a doctor), who has to cure a rich man's daughter with a peculiar disease of dumbness. The girl actually has no disease; advised by her aunt, she is acting as dumb in order to win her father Azgar Ali so that he accepts her lover. Clever Pezgee Mia takes a lot of money from all in the name of helping the concerned. Akash, the lover, suddenly becomes rich and Azgar Ali admits him as his son-in-law. In the end, however, all Pezgee's schemes are revealed to everyone.

The adaptation done by Apu Aman was superb. Especially his use of allusions to contemporary incidents, use of songs performed by a chorus matching the sequence, the witty dialogues, often verging on the line of crudity and vulgarity especially that of Pezgee Mia --all became a good source of amusement. And Pezgee's acting was also quite praiseworthy. Other characters, however, did not seem much confident. The entire team has one common problem in delivering the dialogues: they seemed to be shouting instead of speaking at a higher base of their voice. Director Kamruzzaman Tupa has to look after that.