Review: The Fifth Step - National Theatre Live brings a blistering two-hander to cinemas with unforgettable performances
National Theatre Live’s cinema release of The Fifth Step offers audiences across the UK the chance to see one of the most talked-about plays of the past year - and it more than earns the big-screen treatment.
David Ireland’s tense, darkly funny, and at times unsettling two-hander is powered by two remarkable performances from Jack Lowden and Martin Freeman, captured with an intimacy that feels almost uncomfortably close in the best possible way.
The production, which originally premiered at last years’s Edinburgh Festival, draws the audience inside the fragile, shifting dynamic between Luka (Lowden), a volatile newcomer to Alcoholics Anonymous, and James (Freeman), the seemingly composed sponsor guiding him through the 12-step programme. NT Live’s cameras heighten the claustrophobia: every twitch, every silence, every evasive glance is magnified.
The story centres on the approach to Step 5 - the moment of confession - yet Ireland uses that framework to explore far more: masculinity, shame, faith, loneliness and the subtle power imbalances that sit beneath well-meaning relationships.
Luka’s opening line, “I think I might be an incel”, lands with a jolt and sets in motion a series of conversations that teeter between outrage, hilarity and emotional honesty.
Lowden’s performance is extraordinary -nervy, combustible, heartbreaking. Critics have repeatedly highlighted how he creates a character both “volatile and vulnerable”, and on camera his intensity becomes even more compelling. Every flicker of panic, every flash of bravado feels dangerously real.
Freeman, meanwhile, gives one of his most complex performances in years. Described by reviewers as “superbly slippery” and carrying “a terrifying burden of suppressed anger”, he plays James with a soft-spoken charm that gradually fractures. NT Live’s close-ups allow the audience to see the cracks forming long before Luka does.
Ireland’s writing - long admired for its provocative humour and moral discomfort - is sharply delivered here. The play’s blend of absurdity, ribald comedy and moments of quiet spirituality comes across with even greater precision in the filmed version. At times, it’s laugh-out-loud funny; at others, painfully exposing. That balance between scepticism and sincerity is one of the production’s greatest achievements.
Director Finn den Hertog’s staging in the round works beautifully on screen. NT Live often excels with productions that hinge on actor-led performances, and this recording is no exception. The stripped-back set, the careful lighting and the minimal sound design all contribute to a sense that the audience is eavesdropping on something they perhaps shouldn’t be hearing.
Not all of Ireland’s tonal shifts land perfectly, and some of the more explosive moments feel deliberately muted. But the flaws are minor, and the cumulative effect is powerful: two men grappling with the stories they tell themselves, and the truths they’re afraid to voice aloud.
Ultimately, The Fifth Step on screen is as taut, funny and bruisingly compassionate as it was on stage. It’s a piece that refuses to offer simple answers, but instead sits with the awkward, human messiness of addiction, faith and the longing to be understood.
For those who missed the live production, this National Theatre Live recording is a superb - and unmissable - way to experience it.
( Photos courtesy of NFT Live 📸 )