Friday 9th January 2026 7pm NT Live: Tickets £10
The Fifth Step Cert 15: Strong language, sexual themes, and comments on religion.

The Fifth Step is a powerful and provocative drama that takes audiences deep into the fragile terrain of addiction, recovery, and belief. Broadcast live from the National Theatre, this gripping two-hander unfolds through a series of meetings between Luka, a newcomer to Alcoholics Anonymous, and James, his confident and articulate sponsor.

What begins as a supportive relationship gradually becomes more complex and unsettling. As Luka progresses through the programme, the pair’s conversations move beyond recovery into broader questions of faith, truth, masculinity, and moral responsibility. James’s certainty and eloquence are both comforting and troubling, while Luka’s vulnerability makes him increasingly open — and exposed. The fifth step of the AA programme, which requires individuals to confess the nature of their wrongs, becomes the dramatic and emotional fulcrum of the play.

By turns darkly funny and deeply uncomfortable, The Fifth Step uses sharp, intelligent dialogue to explore the power dynamics that can exist within relationships built on trust and dependence. It challenges the audience to consider where guidance ends and control begins, and whether honesty is always liberating — or sometimes destructive.

Intimate, intense, and richly performed, The Fifth Step offers a searching examination of recovery, belief, and the human need for certainty. It is a gripping piece of contemporary theatre that provokes reflection long after the final line is spoken.

As usual, bar, mulled wine, ice creams, teas and coffees at the start and at the interval.

See you there.

The Cinema Team