This week, London's SohoPlace welcomed the much-anticipated 'The Fifth Step', starring Olivier Award-winner Jack Lowden (Slow Horses) and Emmy and BAFTA Award-winner Martin Freeman (Sherlock, The Hobbit) as James.

Written by David Ireland, The Fifth Step follows Luka and James as they confront the secrets that tether them to their pasts. Grounded in Ireland's personal experiences, sharp and provocative humour captures the fragile yet powerful bond forged between sponsor and newcomer in Alcoholics Anonymous.

Find out what the critics thought of this exciting new opening below!

REVIEWS

The Guardian

"The Fifth Step his first play since 2018 gives [Jack Lowden] a character both volatile and vulnerable in a two-hander bristling with playwright David Ireland's signature style of knotty provocation and ribald comedy."

"Ireland pulls off a tone that is sceptical yet earnest, echoing the sincerity and hangdog humour of the opening song, I'm Just an Old Chunk of Coal (But I'm Gonna Be a Diamond Someday), by Johnny Cash, who knew a thing or two about addiction"

"" Those that are crying will later be laughing," paraphrases James from the Bible. The reverse is perhaps true for this troubling take on feeling lost and the thorny question of redemption."

Daily Mail

"As is common with AA stories, the subject matter is raw, excruciating and often alarmingly funny."

"... Lowden gives us an absolutely top-of-the-range performance, fully exploring the psychological cul-de-sacs and self-defeating wiles of his dismal character."

"... it's the work of Ireland's confrontational boxing match of a drama that ensures Freeman's shell of anti-charisma gets cracked too as both men grapple with AA's Fifth Step of admitting their wrongs, to themselves, each other and to God."

"... mobilising four-letter, weapons-grade repartee, Ireland is never merely gratuitous and has a genius for embarrassing moral dilemmas. Never flattering us with what we'd like to believe of ourselves, he is an aficionado of unacceptable attitudes and shameful home truths."

The Evening Standard

"The two actors tackle challenging material with aplomb in this tight, thought-provoking two hander"

"Intense performances from Jack Lowden and Martin Freeman illuminate David Ireland's slippery comedy about alcoholism, faith and masculinity."

"It's seriously good to see these two actors back in a theatre in such challenging material, on an open stage that offers nowhere to hide"

"They have terrific chemistry on stage, and it's a wonder that they manage not to corpse during a central scene that involves Freeman wearing a pair of giant, fluffy bunny ears."

"As it is, it's a tight, thought-provoking, 85-minute vehicle for two actors at the top of their game. There's also an absolutely magnificent final, visual gag that's almost worth the price of admission alone."

The Financial Times

"Ireland has talked about getting sober aged 23 and describes the play as, to some extent, an encounter between his older and younger selves. It certainly rings with authenticity and with the candour of someone who has examined themselves deeply. It ranges far and wide, touching on trust, honesty and belief, on addiction more broadly, and on loneliness, fatherhood and masculinity."

"The play dances to and fro, interweaving serious questions with crisply funny dialogue and combining the absurd with the profound."

"Lowden and Freeman are superb, matching each other step for step."

"It's a play that raises more questions than it answers, not least about religion. But it's also taut, funny and richly compassionate. In the end, it's about getting through life and the difficulty of honesty, particularly with yourself."

The Times

"Less is definitely more. When I saw this David Ireland two-hander at the Edinburgh International Festival last summer, I couldn't help feeling that Ireland, a writer who loves shock tactics... had thrown in too many extraneous elements. The revised version at London's Sohoplace is leaner and all the more compelling."

"It certainly helps that the director, Finn den Hertog, an associate artist at the National Theatre of Scotland, gets such intense performances out of the Slow Horses star Jack Lowden and Martin Freeman"

"Lowden is staggeringly good as a young loner, Luka, all jitters and tics and swear words, who is trying to pull himself out of an alcoholic spiral. Freeman impresses too as James, the adviser who is trying to help his protg through the 12-step programme to sobriety."

"The result is simpler yet freighted with a greater sense of unease. Things are left unsaid, and that, paradoxically, gives us more to ponder."

With reviews like these, The Fifth Step is a must-see! Grab your tickets here while you still can.