Dear you,
I somehow managed to sneak my way onto a plane to London and there I found a whole new world of sites, smells, sewers and Theatre.
This edition is a special UK version, where I will recount the tales of the shows I scurried to see. First up, is Fifth Step with Martin Freeman and Jack Lowden….
Also see below the spicy takes the community had on Sunset Boulevard - really split opinion here…
THE RAT’S 🇬🇧 RECOMMENDATION:
“Fifth Step”
Cheese Score: 🧀🧀🧀🧀(4/5)
Description:
The Fifth Step is a tense psychological drama in which a recovering alcoholic confesses his darkest secrets to a stranger—only for the encounter to spiral into something far more unsettling.
Why should you care?
Raw Acting Power – The Stage Rat keeps coming back to the power of just actors and text on stage. There’s something magical that happens when we’re led through emotional pathways of conflict, philosophy, love, and betrayal with no distractions. Two actors, Martin Freeman and Jack Lowden, at the top of their game, deliver something tense and deeply compelling.
Intimate – One of the strengths of this production (staged in the round) is the intimacy of Soho Place Theatre, with only a few rows on each side. Unlike vast auditoriums, here you can actually see the expressions on the actors’ faces—essential for a spectacle-lite show like this. The presence of these performers, especially Jack Lowden’s raw, visceral energy, hits harder in such a close space.
Philosophical – The play wrestles, both physically and metaphorically, with the idea of faith. Who can save us? Who can we trust? What does mentorship mean in the modern world? In an age of scandal and moral failure, The Fifth Step dives into the fallibility of everyone—even those in positions of authority.
Who to Bring (and Who Not To)
Bring your smartest, darkest friend—the one who reads Nietzsche for fun and thinks therapy is foreplay. Perfect for ex-theatre kids turned emotionally unavailable adults. Do not bring your Hinge date unless you're ready to unpack trauma by intermission. And unless your mum’s into moral ambiguity and men with god complexes, maybe keep this one for the group chat.
Have you seen it? What's your rating?
RAT READERS 🐀🐀🐀
Here we share the responses from our fellow Rat Mischief - this was from last week’s show - Sunset Boulevard. Submit your review for this week’s show and get featured in next week’s edition.
“I hated it. Devoid of all emotion in a story that is highly emotional. She san[g] well but never did she convince me that she was a silent screen star.”
“While the music was ridiculously stylized to sound like every Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, I thought the staging made this into an innovative revival. Francis is as charismatic as they come. Scherzinger has made the role of Desmond her own -- her voice has grandeur and depth.”
“If you didn't know the movie, story or prior staging of the musical, this production is incomprehensible as narrative and fails to characterize period, people or place. My companion is convinced that this unfortunate mess was conceived as a joke by the "director."”
“I just felt it was so well done. I honestly think the minimalism allowed me to pay more attention to the words and how well they flowed. I’m also a sucker for Tom Francis and his performance. ”
Until next week, keep it dramatic, keep it ratty, and always aim for center stage! 🐀✨.
P.S. Thanks for being part of this weird rat family. Please reply to this email and let us rats know how we are doing?
With lots of Ratitude,
The Stage Rat