E-Mail This Article to a Friend Garden Bard Much Ado, Merchant, and Troilus BY SALLY CRAGIN

Still don’t think Shakespeare’s relevant? Boston’s two biggest companies devoted to al fresco Bard have designed their seasons as a tonic (or sidebar) to the Democratic National Convention. On the banks of the Charles, the Publick Theatre will present the rarely performed Troilus and Cressida (set during the Trojan War) and the touchy, legalistic The Merchant of Venice. On Boston Common, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company will mount a free production of Much Ado About Nothing, a romantic comedy set in the aftermath of a war.

" We actually arranged it so that Troilus and Cressida would be performed in the weeks coming up to the convention, and the week of the convention, we’re doing Merchant. So if people wanted it, they could get a crack at both shows, " explains Publick Theatre artistic director Diego Arciniegas, who will direct Merchant. On the other hand, CSC artistic director Steven Maler found himself yearning for a respite from current events: " I wanted to do something light about a country coming out of a war. "

Connoisseurs of the Bard will welcome the chance to see Troilus, a play that may never have been publicly performed in Shakespeare’s lifetime. Its Homeric subject matter encompasses an unusual love story centered on a Trojan prince and the daughter of a Trojan priest turned traitor who turns out to be less true than she advertises. Director Steven Barkhimer finds much in the play — which takes a dim view of both military heroism and romantic love — that’s thoroughly pertinent to the world today. " Troilus is the passionate man who says what he thinks, and his heart is on his sleeve. He comes on in the beginning and says he can’t fight over Helen. But later, he’s the guy who says, ‘We have to go to war over this.’  " Cressida, in his view, begins as a " street-smart kid " who eventually softens, though " as soon as she falls in love, the world tears her away. "

For Barkhimer, Troilus is catharsis. " Last year, when we were unilaterally entering this war, I had this deep sense of foreboding, like we were a wounded giant flailing at whatever it could bring down. " Yet the play has domestic resonance as well. Arciniegas points out that this season’s Publick productions explore " the two most overt homosexual subplots in Shakespeare. In Troilus, the Greek general [Achilles] refuses to go to war because of his lover — only when Patroclus is killed does he go to war. " And in Merchant, " Antonio is going to be played as a gay character, and this plays to gay marriage. At the end, Shakespeare leaves Antonio alone on stage. "

Although the Publick’s 2003 offerings were " love and romance " in the form of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Twelfth Night, Arciniegas says that " times have changed. And in Latin America and Europe, the voice of the artist is valid, so when people don’t understand, it’s time for us to speak even louder. This is a more politically engaged season for us. "

For Maler, Much Ado is about " getting your head out of violence and warfare and turning toward love and procreation. It’s a profound shift happening throughout the play, and it’s certainly a shift I long for. The more images of violence we’re confronted with, the more we’re longing for peace and celebration. "

Much Ado About Nothing is presented by Commonwealth Shakespeare Company July 10 through August 1 at the Parkman Bandstand on Boston Common. It’s free and open to the public; call (617) 532-1212, or visit www.freeshakespeare.org.

Troilus and Cressida and The Merchant of Venice (the latter enters the rep July 29) are presented by the Publick Theatre through September 12 in Christian Herter Park, Soldiers Field Road in Brighton. Tickets are $25 and $30, or $50 for both shows ($45 for students, seniors, and children; call (617) 782-5425, or visit www.publicktheatre.com