Jack Lowden: Play by Slow Horses star from Edinburgh International Festival to be screened in UK cinemas

The play was originally created by National Theatre of Scotland

A play starring Slow Horses star Jack Lowden that premiered at last year’s Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) is to be beamed into cinemas around the UK after a sell-out West End run.

The Fifth Step, written by David Ireland and created by the National Theatre of Scotland, is one of three plays selected for the new season of National Theatre Live. It is the first NTS production to be showcased on the platform.

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The play had its world premiere at the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh in August last year as part of the EIF and later played in Dundee and Glasgow. The production also stars Martin Freeman, alongside Lowden and is directed by Finn den Hertog, co-artistic director of Scottish theatre company Groupwork and associate artist of NTS.

Slow Horses star Jack Lowdenplaceholder image
Slow Horses star Jack Lowden | Simon Murphy

Mrs Warren’s Profession and Hamlet will also be added to the NT Live line-up, as well as the previously announced Inter Alia, starring Rosamund Pike. The play will broadcast live from the Lyttelton Stage across the UK on September 4, with subsequent global screenings from September 25.

Mr den Hertog said: “It’s fantastic that The Fifth Step will be filmed and released through National Theatre Live. I’ve always been an enormous fan of the hybrid nature of the NT Live work and I feel confident the show will really lend itself to being captured in this way.

“I’m delighted to be able to share the work with a wider audience and I’m particularly proud that a play which started its life with National Theatre of Scotland will not only be seen around the world, but will also be coming home, in a sense, for audiences in cinemas, town halls and arts centres across Scotland.”

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Jack Lowden in The Fifth Stepplaceholder image
Jack Lowden in The Fifth Step | Mihaela Bodlovic

The Fifth Step is a critically-acclaimed comic two-hander that follows Lowden and Freeman’s characters’ journey to sobriety by way of the 12 steps.

Indhu Rubasingham, director and co-chief executive of the National Theatre, said: “From the moment I began this role, I knew that expanding our digital reach would be key to my vision to bring the world to the National Theatre and the National Theatre to the world. NT Live is a powerful way to open not just our work, but the work of our incredible peers in the West End and beyond, to audiences globally.

“This season is a fantastic example of that vision in action - reimagined classics and bold new writing, just as you'll see on our stages in London. It’s about accessibility, excellence, and expanding the joy of theatre far beyond our walls and city. It’s about breaking down barriers and inviting everyone in.”

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The Fifth Step, which was originally presented in Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow by NTS, was captured live for NT Live from its sold-out London West End transfer in the in-the-round Soho Place in London, where it is being performed until July 26. It will release to cinemas from November 27.

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