Martin Freeman returns to London's West End alongside Jack Lowden in alcoholism confessional
Martin Freeman is returning to the London stage in playwright David Ireland’s new piece about masculinity and alcoholism. The Fifth Step will also star Jack Lowden, best known for his role as River Cartwright in spy drama Slow Horses.
The production is transferring to @sohoplace in the West End this May, having first been staged in Dundee, Glasgow and at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2024.
“I’m really looking forward to performing this brilliantly funny, unsettling, unexpected play,” said Freeman. “David Ireland is something quite special and Jack Lowden is an actor I have tremendous respect for and I am looking forward to working with him.”
Lowden, 34, is reprising his role as Luka, a newcomer to the Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step programme. Bafta award-winning actor Freeman, 53, will take on the role of James, who agrees to become Luka’s sponsor.
Over plenty of black coffee the pair bond through steps one through four – honesty, faith, surrender, self-examination – until they hit the titular fifth step: confession. James may have just as many dark secrets, it seems, as Luka.
“To just be in the room again with David and Finn – two dangerously talented individuals – is a gift in itself,” said Lowden, who won an Olivier award in 2013 for Richard Eyre's 2013 adaptation of Ibsen's Ghosts.
“But to now add Martin to the mix, an actor of black belt level skill and a hero of mine, just tops it. I can’t wait for more people to experience The Fifth Step.”
Freeman is known for playing Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit film series and won the best supporting actor TV Bafta in 2011 for his role playing Dr John Watson in the BBC series Sherlock.
Scottish actor Lowden has appeared in films including Dunkirk (2017), Calibre (2018) and Mary Queen Of Scots (2018). He married fellow actor Saoirse Ronan in Scotland last year. Ronan has also just played a recovering alcoholic in The Outrun.
The Fifth Step will open at @sohoplace in London for a limited 11-week season, previewing from May 10 and running until July 26.
Of the tickets available, 15 per cent will be priced at £25. Details about access performances are yet to be confirmed.
