Dr. Israfil Shaheen is a distinguished theatre anthropologist, political and behavioural performance expert, festival curator, and director, and currently serves as the Vice-Chancellor of Thakurgaon University. He previously served as a professor in the Department of Theatre and Performance Studies at the University of Dhaka, where he contributed since 1997. With more than four decades of experience in the theatre world, he has directed over 40 plays and published more than 50 research articles and books. Additionally, he has supervised the direction of over 400 student-led productions, covering a diverse array of genres ranging from classical Greek and Roman theatre to modern absurdism and indigenous theatre of Bangladesh. He has also conducted workshops and presented papers at international forums across various countries, including Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Bhutan, South Korea, China, Russia, the UAE, the USA, the UK, Egypt, the Philippines, Spain, Italy, Poland, France, and the Czech Republic.