A duologue, where the lives of two college friends are played out in a correspondence that spans more than 50 years, provides an unusual framework for the latest dramatic offering by the BMDS at Daylesford.

Love Letters, by popular American playwright, A. R. Gurney, and described as a comedy/drama, traces the sometimes stormy but enduring friendship between Melissa Gardiner, rebellious misfit from a wealthy family and Andrew M. Ladd III, who goes on to become a US senator.

The play, which became a Broadway hit, relies on the almost simplistic formula of having two people on stage, who read aloud their letters to each other which trace the events of their lives over the course of years.

"I think Love Letters will have a universal appeal,'' says veteran actress Connie Dey, who takes on the role of Melissa. "It takes the audience through a lifetime and in spite of the all dramas that erupt in Melissa's life, the script is very funny. I think this play is a kind of psycho-drama that's going to hit everyone. I think it might take quite a few people in the audience back a few years, and even re-live some of the emotions we've all experienced at some time or another -- especially in our college years.'' Mrs. Dey says the format of the play is unusual in that each performer remains a separate entity throughout the play. "We never even look at each other -- no eye contact at all,'' she says. "I understand that the original Broadway production was very basic, with the actors just seated on each side of the stage, but our production has two distinct sets to give it a little more atmosphere. And I think we will probably have more movement in our version.'' Another advantage of this play, at least from the actors' point of view, is that they do not have to memorise pages and pages of lines: "We have to know it pretty well, of course, but we will be actually reading the letters,'' she explains.

For Connie Dey, this role marks a new focus in her acting career. Long renowned for her portrayals of Shakespeare and the `heavies' (she was Blanche in BMDS's first production of A Streetcar Named Desire, which was directed by current Royal Gazette editor, David L. White), Mrs. Dey has concentrated on lighter fare in the past few years.

"I haven't had so much time, with children in school and so on, so I stuck with the annual Panto, minor roles for the Gilbert and Sullivan Society. Now, I might get back into some more serious stuff,'' says this versatile actress who majored in drama at Emerson College in Boston.

Since her arrival in Bermuda in 1958, Mrs. Dey has worked for both the Department of Tourism and the Chamber of Commerce, where she assisted with the organisation of theatrical events to celebrate the Island's 350th Anniversary, the Floral Pageant, College Weeks and the Rendezvous Season. She has also worked in advertising as a radio and television script writer, and as a model and commentator for fashion shows. She is presently the Special Interest Group Coordinator for the National Trust.

Appearing opposite Connie Dey in the role of Andrew M. Ladd, will be popular cartoonist Peter Woolcock, whose satirical views provide a weekly chuckle for readers of The Royal Gazette .

Mr. Woolcock, who was born in Buenos Aires, works for Aardvark Advertising and is in constant demand as an illustrator of children's books for a major London publisher. At one time, he drew for Walt Disney and is best known in England as the artist who drew the Rupert Bear series of books and strip cartoons.

Diane Edmunds, who is producing Love Letters comments: "Everyone at the audition agreed that Connie and Peter made a perfect combination and the director said that the first time they read the script, it was as if they had been acting together for years.'' This show will mark the directing debut of Steve Dudden, who, until now, has been better known as a technical, back-stage whiz. He made his stage debut last year in the Gilbert & Sullivan Society's production of The Boy Friend and just recently, took the plunge into drama when he appeared in the BMDS production of The Little Foxes.

Love Letters opens at Daylesford on Monday, September 14 and runs through Saturday, September 19. Tickets at $10 are available from the Daylesford box office until Friday between 5.30 and 7 p.m, on Saturday between 12.30 and 2.30 p.m., and on show nights from 7 to 8 p.m.

CONNIE DEY -- The veteran actress appears in next week's BMDS production of Love Letters at Daylesford.