Imran Aslam and Rehana Saigol performed the play together for the first time in March 1999. PHOTO: PUBLICITY
Andy: “But now she’s gone and I really don’t know how I’ll get along without her.”
Melissa: “You’ll survive, Andy...”
March 3, 1999 was the first time designer Rehana Saigol and media person Imran Aslam performed AR Gurney’s Love Letters, an epistolary tale of two characters who sit side-by-side at a table, reading mail exchanged by them over a span of five decades.
Over 17 years later, the duo portraying Melissa Gardner and Andrew ‘Andy’ Makepeace Ladd took to the stage once again to present the play directed by Hameed Haroon, under the watchful eye of the impressive Mohatta Palace in Karachi on Friday evening.
The different episodes of their lives represented by different letters, were intermitted by the 1950s songs of various artists, accompanied by a background comprising photographs of the two individuals.
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In response to a gift from Andy, Melissa puts pen to paper to express her gratitude and this is where the series of exchanges begins.
Throughout the first act the actors managed to win the audiences as the lighter, funny episodes echoed in dimmed laughter. Saigol managed to embody feelings such as jealousy and anger in a very convincing manner and her shifts in style, as her character grows in age and experience, were noteworthy. Aslam, on the other hand, was rather monotonous throughout the 80 minutes. With the ending of the first act, an approximate quarter of the audience left the venue.
The second act was more riveting since it portrayed the latter half of the protagonists’ lives where they find themselves trapped under the burden of responsibilities.
Melissa finds herself with two divorced husbands and two children whose custody she doesn’t have. With her proclivity for alcohol, she dabbles in art and tries to hold on to her life. Andy on the other hand is doing very fine. After graduating from Yale, he becomes a successful attorney with a stable family life.
This time Aslam was in total control. His emotions came to light during the second half and made the interaction between the two performers more watchable.
After Andy becomes a senator and Melissa’s life seems close to rock bottom, their affair inches towards a dramatic closure. Melissa’s untimely death results in Andy writing a letter to her mother, pouring his heart out. Their bond is such that even death doesn’t separate them as Melissa replies to the last letter.
Originally premiering in March 1988, Love Letters found wide acceptance with screen legends such as Paul Newman, Mel Gibson, Dame Elizabeth Tayler and Holland Taylor who have performed it over the years.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 3rd, 2016.
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