Dubious Intent

‘In order to write about life first you must live it,’ said Ernest Hemingway, and it’s an oft-quoted line between Mike and Jesse. The two students meet regularly in the library, to write together, to talk about their dream of how and where they would be successful writers. They have built a friendship where their future appears inextricably linked, but in reality, there are more than just these two in their world.

Despite being good friends, Mike (Brody McCarthy) and Jesse (Ned Mathers) aren’t great at speaking to each other: they make heavy use of literary quotes to express feelings, and it’s only through reading their own writings do they get to understand what is happening.

It’s a great concept, where no-one is sure how a stale friendship will survive a change in trajectory, but it’s drawn out with a lot of silence and repetition. The performances are good when the characters are intense, but not so much when they’re ‘normal’. The now-stilted friendship feels acted, rather than being recognisable.

The story takes a long time to get to the discovery, and when it does, there are predictable reactions to betrayal. Unfortunately, these are resolved far too quickly and amicably, and whilst this demonstrates the true friendship that sits underneath these hardened shells, there’s no real exploration of the feelings of grief, and how a person would typically bounce between them.

By the finale, McCarthy and Mathers make it work between them, and writer/director Callum O’Mara has the seeds of a great play about life, which will only get better once lived.  

Review by Mark Wickett

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