Me and Robert McKee

On Thursday evening went off to Circa to see Me and Robert McKee.

It’s a black comedy which is the tale of two mates – Billy the scruffy script-writer and teacher, and Mac his best mate, who is a producer.

The Robert McKee referred to in the title is the author of the biblical “Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting”. To say he is successful is under-stating it. His former students include 26 Academy Awards winners and 125 Emmy Awards winners.

Billy could not be more different. He is washed up, and his income comes from teaching screenwriting at a local institute. His big hope is to write the screenplay for his mate Mac. The play consists of quite intense scenes between them, as Billy wants to use Mac’s childhood memories as the basis of his script.

The two actors are very skilled at bringing their characters to life. Christopher Brougham plays Billy in a hugely engaging and entertaining way – in fact at times he almost seemed like a leprechaun.

Having said that, this is probably more a play for dedicated theatre patrons, rather than those who just go occasionally. The first 45 minutes were a bit slow with the major plot developments happening later on. There are a couple of great twists towards the end.

Money is a theme throughout the show – to attract the wealthy doctors to invest in the film, the cashflow requirements, and the line that writing is about “telling lies for money”. And at the end of the show you may learn whether money is the root of all evil.

The show is on at Circa 2 until 4 December.