The Fifth Step (EIF)
★★★☆☆ Diffuse
Lyceum Theatre (EIF): Wed 21– Sun 25 Aug 2024
Review by Hugh Simpson
The National Theatre of Scotland’s The Fifth Step at the Lyceum as part of the International Festival is a keenly observed and notably well acted piece that nevertheless lacks sustained impact.
David Ireland’s new play is a bleakly comic portrait of men lying to themselves and each other, trying and failing to face up to their demons, their past transgressions and their problems with intimacy.
Jack Lowden and Sean Gilder. Pic: Mihaela Bodlovic
Luka (Jack Lowden) is a new attendee at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, while James (Sean Gilder) is older, more experienced and appears to be a perfect candidate to be Luka’s ‘sponsor’ – the person who guides you through AA’s 12-step programme.
The play’s title refers to a stage in the process where it is necessary for the recovering addict to ‘confess’ the harm they have caused to themselves and others. While declaring himself not to be a believer in religion, James nevertheless agrees that a ‘spiritual awakening’ is a necessary part of the recovery process. Yet Luka’s highly individual spiritual awakening is the start of a series of complex shifts in the dynamic between the two men.
thoroughly recognisable
The first thing that has to be said is that the performances are very fine. Lowden’s younger Scot is a tense, fidgety, thoroughly recognisable figure; Gilder’s bluff North of England mentor is by turns hearty and evasive. Both characterisations are well-rounded and compelling.
Sean Gilder and Jack Lowden. Pic: Mihaela Bodlovic
There is also much to recommend in Ireland’s writing and Finn den Hertog’s direction – both are spare, sparse and muscular, with the expected amount of provocative, near-the-knuckle humour.
Strange to report, then, that the end result is somewhat meandering and feels like every bit of its 90 minutes-plus straight through. The ups and downs of the relationship between the two men become predictable. Some of the events are clearly signposted far in advance in a way that can only be deliberate, but the long wait for them to play out means that any tension is lost.
grafted on
The overtly Christian nature of AA also leads to a great deal of material about religion and the nature of belief that seems grafted on, rather than being an indispensable part of the narrative.
Milla Clarke’s revolving set is stunning at the opening, as are Lizzie Powell’s lighting and Mark Melville’s composition and sound design. However, all three lose their impact through overuse, as if attempting to make up for lack of excitement elsewhere. Attempts to add something new – such as the appearances of a giant rabbit – once again appear like unresolved afterthoughts rather than part of a coherent whole.
The various hypocrisies of people and institutions are examined at length, but little light is shed. Ireland may well be trying to move away from the visceral shock that his earlier plays possessed, but the result also lacks tautness and drama.
Running time 1 hour 35 minutes (no interval)
Lyceum Theatre, Grindlay St, EH3 9AX as part of the Edinburgh International Festival
Wednesday 21 – Sunday 25 August 2024
Wed – Sat 7.30pm; Sun: 6pm; mats Sat/Sun: 2pm.
Details and tickets: Book here.
The Pavilion Theatre, 121 Renfield Street, Glasgow, G2 3AX
Wednesday 28 – Saturday 31 Aug 2024
Wed – Sat: 7.30pm, Thurs, Sat: 2.30pm.
Details and tickets: Book here.
Jack Lowden and Sean Gilder. Pic: Mihaela Bodlovic
ENDS
You’re much too kind to this. A lame and pointless piece of work. The humour was so second rate – much joking about masturbation (twenty times a day?!) – and then the histrionics, unfunny OTT nonsense. God is a paper cup? It’s NOT A PAPER CUP bellows Sean Gilder to be repeated and repeated. A serious subject treated as a vehicle for knockabout humour – and this is the National Theatre? Seriously? A total dud of a play as time will tell.