The excitement in Jack Lowden’s voice is palpable when he talks of appearing in David Ireland’s new play, The Fifth Step. The actor, who has appeared in quite amazing work such as Slow Horses on TV and Chariots of Fire on the West End stage, appreciates great writing.
“I’ve seen David’s Ulster American twice and I was monumentally blown away by it,” he recalls. “And I’ve never heard an audience react in this way before, in producing these gasps of disbelief. It really felt you were with a group of people who couldn’t quite believe what they were seeing or hearing.”
Lowden plays the role of Luka, a young man attending Alcoholic Anonymous. “The script is fantastic. And even though it’s set in AA, what really comes across is how little alcohol is actually talked about because what David has done is really explore this understanding of what people are prepared to say in this space that they are not used to being in.”
He adds: “They then feel comfortable enough to be able to say the same things they would if they were drunk. And it was tantalising to discover how dangerous these things are.”
Is the play about analysing what a man’s character is supposed to be? Is it harder to be a man these days?
“From my perspective we are being asked to look at ourselves, which is never a bad thing. But it’s important for anyone – man or woman – to look into themselves and the play focuses a lot on the comfort in revealing your deepest darkest desires. And it’s about being comfortable with shame, things that we’ve done, and even more scarily, the things that we’ve thought."
Jack Lowden’s Luka struggles to get a girlfriend. How hard is it for a heartthrob who’s been talked up as the new Bond, who drew gasps of delight as Lord Darnley in Mary Queen of Scots, to play someone who doesn’t believe he’s attractive to women? “Well, I don’t want to give too much of the script detail away,” he says, grinning, “but we do talk about my character being ginger.”
At this point the actor pulls at his hair to display his natural colouring. What? Come on, Jack, you’re strawberry blond. Are you deluding yourself as much as Luka? And he laughs at his attempted deception.
“Okay, I’ll accept that.” He adds, “Luka truly doesn’t believe that he is attractive. And we discover why he is so uncomfortable around women.” Is this because he suffers from self-loathing, or at the very least a deep discomfort with his own personality, and that’s why he sees this distorted image in the mirror?
“Absolutely bang on. I think he doesn’t know who he is yet. And he’s trying to cover this over, as so many young men do, with an addiction, whether that’s alcohol or nicotine or sex because he doesn’t know how to be in the world.”
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The play references the Catholic-Protestant divide in the west of Scotland. “It’s really interesting in that I grew up in the Scottish Borders and the sectarian issue wasn’t part of my life in anyway shape or form - but then I went to the Royal Conservatoire in Glasgow, and it was only being in the city that I became aware of it, at 18 years old.”
What of alcohol? Did he, like Luka, ever have an over familiarity with the beer bottle? “Personally, no. I’m now 34 and me and my friends are all having their own journey with drink in terms of packing it in. And there comes the point you question your relationship with drink and how you behave in certain social situations, such as one-on-one. Now, I don’t drink during the week or when I’m working. And as I’ve gotten older, I’ve fallen more in love with the idea of not really drinking. But that’s just age.”
Yes, you’re ancient, Jack. He laughs. “Well, you know what I mean.” I do. But if alcohol often blurs the lines with reality, was acting, going to youth theatre, an escape for the young Jack Lowden? “Yes, a hundred per cent. I was a very shy kid, and I still am a bit shy. I’m definitely more of an introvert, someone who will seek my own company rather than the company of others.”
He thinks for a moment. “You know when people have a speech impediment and then when they sing it disappears? Well, when I first got up on stage my nerves sort of disappeared because I wasn’t myself anymore. My thinking on stage was that because I was now another person, what I did or said on stage didn’t count. If I didn’t feel I were good looking enough, tall enough, happy enough . . . then it didn’t matter. So, yes, acting is absolutely my crutch, for sure.”
He doesn’t half pour his soul into it, evidence by the Olivier Award he collected for his role in Ibsen’s Ghosts. But Ibsen doesn’t feature many laughs. David Ireland plays guarantee sides will be sore. “When I was young I wanted to do something in sport but I was useless, but the closest I’ve come to the joy of scoring a goal in front of a huge crowd, or whatever, is getting laughs on stage.” Such as appearing on stage as a 12-year-old in Peter Pan, with the comedy giants that were Gerard Kelly and Andy Gray? “I had eleven weeks of magic,” he says, grinning.
The Fifth Step will preview at Dundee Rep Theatre before opening at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh(Edinburgh International Festival) and touring to Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow in August.
www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/events/the-fifth-step
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