Jack Lowden joined by Martin Freeman in alcoholism drama The Fifth Step
Slow Horses star Jack Lowden is to reprise his role in The Fifth Step, a play about addiction, faith and masculinity, in a new West End production co-starring Martin Freeman.
Lowden first appeared in the drama, written by David Ireland, at the Edinburgh international festival last year and drew acclaim for his performance as an alcoholic, Luka, who joins the 12-step programme. The two-hander starred Sean Gilder as Luka’s older mentor, a part that will be played by Freeman in the production at @sohoplace in London, running from 10 May until 26 July. Finn den Hertog will again direct.
The play’s title refers to the part of the Alcoholics Anonymous programme which involves writing down the life experiences that have brought you shame and guilt, and sharing that list with someone you trust. “I realised it’s called The Fifth Step because the whole play is like my fifth step – it’s my confession,” said Ireland, who attended AA meetings through his own experiences of alcoholism and loneliness. The playwright is known for the controversial black comedies Cyprus Avenue, in which a Belfast loyalist believes his infant granddaughter to be Gerry Adams, and Ulster American, which probes the film and theatre industries post-#MeToo. Ulster American was also staged at the Edinburgh festival and had a subsequent London run with Woody Harrelson in the cast.
The Fifth Step, presented by Neal Street Productions, Playful Productions and the National Theatre of Scotland, will be staged in-the-round at @sohoplace, a new purpose-built venue owned by Nica Burns. It opened in 2022 as part of a £300m regeneration of the area near Tottenham Court Road station.
Lowden, who starred in a West End transfer of the Almeida theatre’s Ghosts in 2013 and 2014 before his TV and film success, said: “To just be in the room again with David and Finn – two dangerously talented individuals – is a gift in itself. But to now add Martin to the mix, an actor of black-belt level skill and a hero of mine, just tops it.”
Freeman, whose West End roles have included Richard III, called the two-hander a “brilliantly funny, unsettling, unexpected play”. Den Hertog said Ireland’s “trademark caustic wit, irreverence and subversiveness are out in full force in The Fifth Step”. The writer said he hoped London theatregoers “will find the play as thrilling and funny and thought-provoking as audiences in Scotland have”.
