The ultimate battle of man versus nature will be tackled this weekend by No Refund Theater in its production of The Trial of Grendel.

Adam Kapp (senior-English and psychology) is not only playing the title role, but he's also directing, as the No Refund Theater (NRT) presents the play at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday in 111 Forum. Each performance will run for one hour and 15 minutes.

"It's not the way I would have preferred to do it," he said. "But since I decided to do it, I'm kind of glad just because I've put so much effort into it up to this point, especially with the character of Grendel ... I think in the end it'll be rewarding to have complete control over how that character comes out, for better or for worse."

Zach Stewart (senior-film and video), who plays Hrothgar, King of the Danes, said this is the first show he's worked on where the director was "brave enough to take the lead in the show."

Kapp chose to base the show on the book Grendel by John Gardner rather than the poem "Beowulf" because he liked looking at the story through the eyes of a different character.

"Gardner has taken the opposing point of view by taking the enemy character and telling the story through him, and I like that idea," Kapp said.

The story will be told through flashbacks in a modern-day courtroom where Grendel is put on trial for murdering men.

"I think that the scope of the play, even though he uses the characters of "Beowulf" and Grendel, is bigger," he said.

"The theme of man versus nature is ultimately at the core of the show."

It was a challenge for Kapp to rewrite the book into a working and entertaining script.

"When I directed a play with NRT last semester, I had a preset play," he said.

"The words were already there, the parts were already there, the instructions were already there. I just had to kind of bring it to life. This time I had to really work in making a script."

Ryan Hennessy (junior-computer science), who plays a priest, said it's been interesting to perform a student-written piece and to work with the play's actual writer.

Kapp said people do not need to be familiar with the book to understand the play, but it might bring greater meaning if they have.

Assistant director Kasey Soska (sophomore-psychology), who is also playing the prosecuting attorney for the men Grendel killed, said anyone who has read the book or the poem should definitely attend.

"It's such an interesting turn on the story," he said. "It's a modernization and a reflection and it's just that if you read any of those, I think it'd be awesome to come see."

Kapp described the show as an "extravaganza" full of philosophical and existentialist elements.

"For good or for bad, it's definitely going to be an experiment in theater ... it'll be a good end result no matter what happens," he said.