The Fifth Step
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $18.99
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
The point is to divest yourself of shame… It's about getting clean.
Thirty something Luka is new to Alcoholics Anonymous and looking for a sponsor.? James is older, has been in the programme for years, surely he's the perfect person to shepherd the younger man through each of the twelve steps on the road to recovery. Or maybe life just isn't that simple.
In a programme that requires both of them to come to terms with their past, can Luka and James face their transgressions to find a new way of living??
The Fifth Step is David Ireland's grimly comic, provocative new play about men, intimacy and what we choose to put our faith in.
This edition was published to coincide with the National Theatre of Scotland's production at the Edinburgh International Festival, in August 2024.
Customer Reviews
The Fifth Step
I did enjoy this play, particularly at the beginning. It seemed to be a realistic and entertaining depiction of a fifth step, showing connection, intimacy and enthusiasm .
Halfway through, the tables seem to turn and the sponsee starts inventorying the sponsor. We see fatal flaws emerging, paranoia, thirteenth stepping, betrayal of outside parties, and ultimately rejection and death.
This turns the light hearted scenario into a tragedy.
The portrayal of characters is realistic. They are human.
The Program is not made up of saints.
The action is lively and dynamic leading to a crescendo at the end.
Ultimately the play is entertainment. The ending struck me as being melodramatic, but I’m not sure whether this would be so on stage.
The tragedy of the process of enthusiastic recovery, through to angry rejection is the theme central to the tragedy