Guwahati, Sept. 22: The Seagull National Theatre Festival, 2002, got off to an impressive start with the presentation of Just Letters by the local theatre group, D’rama — The Passion Players.

Inspired by A.R. Gurney’s Love Letters, the play is an epistolary portrayal of the two protagonists’ journey across life.

In this inaugural offering of the Seagull festival, the two characters on stage remained confined to their chairs while the play unfolded with the two actors reading aloud from the letters they had written to each other.

The strength of the play’s script was adequately complemented by the gripping performances of Jit Chaliha and Tondra Borbora.

Jit was superb in his portrayal of Ranjan Barua and a perfect foil to the young director, Sattyakee D’com Bhuyan.

D’com’s selection of Lou Majow, the rock music icon of the Northeast, to present the music live on stage demonstrated the virtuosity of the director.

Shanu Roychoudhury, presented by the acclaimed theatre group of Calcutta, Nandikar, provided the drama lovers of the region with an opportunity to watch actress Swatilekha Sengupta at her best.

Director Rudraprasad Sengupta, whose productions such as Football and Nagar Keertan had received highest critical acclaim, had adapted Willy Russel’s Shirley Valentine into Bengali with Swatilekha in mind.

In director Rudraprasad’s own words, the production of Shanu Roychoudhury was a significant interactive process, which helped the actress to give in her best.

Sengupta, who inaugurated the Seagull festival on Friday evening, also skillfully exploited Swatilekha’s talents and the end result was a veritable feast for the senses.

The story of a middle-aged lady fighting loneliness and reduced to conversing with the walls of her house evoked pathos and humour in equal proportions and Swatilekha’s versatility made watching the play a memorable experience.

The actress was honoured for her unparalleled performance by Swanntana Bordoloi of Dulal Roy’s Preyoshi fame on behalf of Seagull.