films

Legendary playwright Godfrey Winters (Frank Langella*) has not been seen outside his isolated estate in almost a decade. His last play, 'Searching for Jocko's leg', was hailed a work of genius for holding the audiences frozen to their seats in awe, hours after the curtain had gone down. But that was long ago...

Now, the reclusive Master is resurfacing with this latest, and perhaps last, tour-de-force: a play that will plunder the depths of the human psyche and tear down the notorious 'Fifth Wall' of the theater, the thin barrier that separates actor from audience, and perhaps reality from utter madness.

Godfrey summons two struggling and largely inept young actors to his secluded estate to rehearse what he hopes will be his theatrical comeback, 'Breaking the Fifth'.

As the two arrive, they are promptly submersed into a series of bizarre improvisational acting exercises to warm them up, experiences that assault their dignity and chafe their sanity. The actors continually disappoint the 'Master' in these early tests. Godfrey increases the pressure by dangling the carrot of fame and fortune over the hapless thespians, unleashing more psychological, physical and emotional experiments before finally revealing the true theme of his new play. Too afraid to quit and too desperate to say no, they follow Godfrey where no playwright or actor has gone before...

The young actors will either give birth to the greatest piece of stage work ever, or they will be buried in the woods trying!

"An actors' job is to go the very edge of sanity at the drop of a hat, and return to reality at will".

*Frank Langella, winner of 2007 Tony Award for Best Actor.