Tag Archives: @Sohoplace

THE FIFTH STEP

★★★★

@Sohoplace

THE FIFTH STEP

@Sohoplace

★★★★

“the direction is slick and there’s always a sense that something is around the corner”

About halfway through this bracing alcohol-and-redemption two-hander, James suddenly appears in a rabbit’s head.

This is a call-back to a dream that Luka recounts, Luka being a newcomer to the step programme of Alcoholics Anonymous. In the dream, his sponsor James appears like a rabbit, and so he does again in real life.

This is an interesting fantastical element, we think, seeing the world through Luka’s eyes.
James, in the rabbit’s head, offers Luka some cake.

‘What kind of cake?’ asks Luka.

‘Carrot.’

That’s the whole point of this elaborate set-up – a carrot joke. The rabbit’s head is swiftly dispatched and is of no further use or consequence.

Therein lies the tension at the heart of The Fifth Step. We can see playwright David Ireland’s impish inclinations at work. He can’t help himself. If there’s a gag, he’s going to veer off course to hoover it up whatever the cost to character, balance or timing. Now we’re thinking: that whole bit about Luka’s dream? Was that just there to construct the rabbit-carrot gag?

The writer really wants us laughing. He is successful – for it is a very funny play – but it is also an effortful and visible urge. It means many of those tight 90 minutes are devoted to set-ups and punchlines are not available to develop character, relationships and substance.

Because the play also has a hankering to tackle big issues. There is the overarching scenario – a suicidal alcoholic seeking aid from a long sober veteran. This leads to discussions about the oedipal reflexes of fathers and sons, spiritual awakenings, inventories of shameful behaviour (aka, the fifth step) and – hold on to your hats – sex. Lots and lots of talk about self-pleasuring.

The result is resoundingly entertaining but frustratingly slim.

That is not to say the audience is short-changed.

For one, it is a very comfortable watch. Yes, the expletive-rich script can prove occasionally jarring, but the action speeds along, the dialogue flies about like a pinball, the direction is slick and there’s always a sense that something is around the corner – some twist or revelation – that will provide fresh juice.

The stage (set design Milla Clarke), in the round, aids this sense of urgency. It is reminiscent of a scattered circle of folding chairs at an AA meeting but soon becomes a wrestling ring, with two minds locked in an embrace, fighting each other to a breathless standstill.

Secondly, there are the performances. They are simply superb – low-key and silky. Jack Lowden is the freshly minted star of Slow Horses and here he reprises his role as Luka from a short Edinburgh run. He is all chaotic energy, his leg always bouncing, his mind always racing.

Martin Freeman, as James, has a knack for freighted stillness. And, of course, he has a history of hangdog deadpanning that is firmly part of comedy legend. But we also know – if only from his Bafta-nominated role in The Responder – that beneath that placid exterior, roiling anger bubbles and seethes.

Their parts are underwritten and their relationship too mercurial to be wholly conclusive but in the moment, there is a wonderful chemistry. Finn Den Hertog’s direction makes full use of their combustible contrasts – younger and older, tall and short, keen and jaded, motionless and jittery.

All this makes for a brisk and punchy tour of two fractured psyches struggling to account for a lifetime of queasy impulses. Worth a watch, if you dare.



THE FIFTH STEP

@Sohoplace

Reviewed on 17th May 2025y

by Giles Broadbent

Photography by Johan Persson

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

A CHRISTMAS CAROL(ISH) | ★★★★ | November 2024
DEATH OF ENGLAND: CLOSING TIME | ★★★★ | August 2024
DEATH OF ENGLAND: DELROY | ★★★★★ | July 2024
DEATH OF ENGLAND: MICHAEL | ★★★★★ | July 2024
THE LITTLE BIG THINGS | ★★★★ | September 2023
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN | ★★★★★ | May 2023

 

 

THE FIFTH STEP

THE FIFTH STEP

THE FIFTH STEP

A CHRISTMAS CAROL(ISH)

★★★★

@Sohoplace

A CHRISTMAS CAROL(ISH) at @Sohoplace

★★★★

“a bumper pack of Christmas crackers – plenty of bangs, groan-worthy jokes, gimmicks and a squeaky toy”

In Scrooge-like fashion, the gremlins struck the press night of Nick Mohammed’s madcap festive spectacular causing the performance to be curtailed. They struck again on this second attempt, with technical difficulties interrupting the final act.

Such is the nature of A Christmas Carol(ish), starring Nick Mohammed’s gremlin-esque alter-ego Mr Swallow, that many of the audience thought the interregnum was part of the production’s nod-and-wink playfulness. The whole thing is a teetering calamity with sufficient nods to the perils of live entertainment to make an appearance by the stage crew almost inevitable.

The downtime was short-lived and towards the climax. By then the four-strong cast had garnered enough goodwill and provoked enough merriment to ensure most stayed around to see the story out.

Just as well, because still to come was Mohammed’s wire walk to retrieve a special parcel lodged in the roof at @Sohoplace. A real nail biter. You underestimate multi-talented Mr Mohammed at your peril.

This is Mohammed’s show – writer, lyricist, star – and it’s been upscaled from earlier incarnations with extra razzle and indeed dazzle. Helpfully, he introduces himself for those unfamiliar with his nasally high-pitched irritant character Mr Swallow, based on a real-life English teacher blended with a hint of Mr Bean.

The plot, such as it is, is modelled on the Dickensian classic with Scrooge replaced by Santa. But don’t attempt to follow the original text too closely – it’s a gumbo pot of festive treats. God appears (voice only) and the nativity story also gets a look-in with a faintly alarming but very funny replay of the birth of Jesus with Mr Swallow as a scouse midwife. Look away now kids.

In director Matt Peover’s song-speckled staging, Mohammed is ably and gamely supported by diva Rochelle (Ghosts’ Martha Howe-Douglas) who is doing them all a favour between Lloyd-Webber gigs; put-upon impresario Mr Goldsworth (David Elms); and ratty orphan Rudolph (Kieran Hodgson). They’re all playing roles in Mr Goldsworth’s production with overconfident and under rehearsed Mr Swallow the rogue element. You can understand why technical difficulties are the least of the production’s concerns.

Special mention for the set (Fly Davis) which appears like a Victorian Amazon warehouse, with boxes to the ceiling, but becomes, at various points, a glowing cityscape with candlelit windows, an advent calendar for character vignettes and, of course, a climbing wall for Mr Swallow’s high stakes scramble.

The reference that springs to mind is – admirably – one of those classic Morecambe and Wise plays “what Ernie wrote” with endless mugging, undercutting, quick fire gags and bags of whimsy. Quick-witted and winning Mohammed is at the centre of it all. He brings his impish charms to what has evolved into an ambitious and glittery production that delivers more often than not.

It’s a bumper pack of Christmas crackers – plenty of bangs, groan-worthy jokes, gimmicks and a squeaky toy. Mishappy Christmas, Mr Swallow.

 


A CHRISTMAS CAROL(ISH) at @Sohoplace

Reviewed on 26th November 2024

by Giles Broadbent

Photography by Matt Crockett

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

DEATH OF ENGLAND: CLOSING TIME | ★★★★ | August 2024
DEATH OF ENGLAND: DELROY | ★★★★★ | July 2024
DEATH OF ENGLAND: MICHAEL | ★★★★★ | July 2024
THE LITTLE BIG THINGS | ★★★★ | September 2023
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN | ★★★★★ | May 2023

A CHRISTMAS CAROL(ISH)

A CHRISTMAS CAROL(ISH)

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