A two-hander starring Jack Lowden and Martin Freeman, and filmed live at @sohoplace, London’s newest West End theatre, this new play by David Ireland has appeared on NT at Home.
Lowden is Luka, a newcomer to Alcoholics Anonymous, while Freeman is James, his more experienced sponsor. Through the five steps of recovery – honesty, faith, surrender, self-examination, confession – we meet the two men in a play heavy on talk and short on action.
Director Finn den Hertog has kept a tight rein on Ireland’s natural propensity for dark humour and absurd situations, with Luka’s dreams a natural focus as he navigates a new life without alcohol and addiction. Lowden sports a beard and affects a Scots accent for the role, while Freeman is still recognisably Freeman, albeit a bit more slimy and sarcastic.
The play is staged in the round without a set, fully open to observation and scrutiny. This will inevitably have been more powerful when the production was viewed live, but still offers a close-up view of the exchanges in the recorded version.
However, I was not convinced that the play knew what it wanted to be, as there were awkward segues from comical moments to high drama to psychological musing.
The Fifth Step dips into issues around incels and masculinity, but never fully faces them head-on. Fathers and families are another topic, as well as infidelity and the propensity of men to always have sex on their minds.
As this show was labelled a ‘must-see ‘, I admit to being a little disappointed – I found it more than a little pedestrian, and very flat in places. When the energy levels rise, it becomes much more interesting, but over 85 minutes, this happens only in a couple of brief moments, leaving the rest of the play nowhere to go.
The Fifth Step is available to view on NT at Home (rental or subscription).