Theatre review: The Fifth Step

Back to @sohoplace, the theatre with a name so current it thinks it's figured out what the "F" stands for in TFI Friday, for David Ireland's latest play. And while one of the characters is a lapsed Catholic and the other embraces Protestantism during the course of the story, this sees the playwright widen his scope from the legacy of the Troubles that has been the backdrop to his previous work. Not that Luka (Jack Lowden) and James (Martin Freeman) don't have their own troubled histories, but theirs are with alcohol. Luka has just joined Alcoholics Anonymous and in the opening scene, following a discussion about the importance of choosing the right sponsor in which James could be construed to be pitching for the job, he does indeed ask the older man to mentor him. The sometimes fractious and combative relationship that follows starts to get even more personal once they reach The Fifth Step of the programme.

This is the "Confession" step, where Luka has to confront the damage his addiction has done to himself and others, but when it comes to it the only grievances he can think of are those he has against James himself.

This is an interesting look at AA and particularly the relationship between members and their sponsors, which while essentially coming down on the side of the way the programme works, questions this relationship and the power it gives someone who is, at the end of the day, still a recovering addict himself. From a dramatic point of view the audience knows that the dynamic won't stay unchallenged for the entire play, but I did like the way James seeds the idea of how alcoholics are selfish and manipulative and this includes him, but in quite what ways this will reveal itself still gives us a plot to unravel.

But for this to work we have to have seen James as quite a superior, even prissy figure, and this is where much of the comedy comes from in a play that's most memorable for showcasing Ireland's touch with dark humour. A lot of the sponsor's focus is on Luka steering clear of anything that could serve as an alternative focus for his addictive personality, particularly relationships and sex, and this causes some fun clashes with the younger man whose most immediate concerns are that he's lonely and horny. I feel like I've mostly seen Lowden in fairly dour, serious roles so it's nice to see him flex more comic muscles as the more abrasive but ultimately more likeable figure.

Freeman on the other hand is on more familiar comic ground, although the dark undertow of the play is a fresh use for his trademark nonplussed facial expressions - and the venue's intimate enough that they're visible even from the back row. Plus if like me you enjoy a surprisingly weird comic delivery, his choice of how to say the single name "Anne" will be your highlight. I liked the way Finn den Hertog's production starts with an already minimal stage and proceeds to get rid of what little clutter there is to leave the two men alone on stage, as well as the simple way Milla Clarke's design achieves it*. Overall an entertaining, lighter look at the subject than the description might suggest.

The Fifth Step by David Ireland is booking until the 26th of July at @@sohoplace Theatre.

Running time: 1 hour 25 minutes straight through.

Photo credit: Johan Persson.

*though was there really no place to hide away the tea and coffee tray? It becomes increasingly prominent at the side of the stage as everything else gets tidied away.