“Temple” – a play by Steve Waters

Temple by Steve Waters

The Donmar Warehouse until July 25^th 2015

Temple, a new play by Steve Waters, is a supposedly fictional account of the 2011 Occupy London anti capitalist group who ended up camping outside the architectural icon of St Paul’s Cathedral. The story focuses on three distinct pillars of religion: the Dean who embodies truth and sanctity, the fading tradition and self-importance shown in the Bishop of London and the misplaced and progressive Canon Chancellor. It is a fascinating and thought provoking piece about how these three religious figures react to their newly acquired neighbours, the protestors. Above all, it is held together by a very sympathetic performance by Simon Russell Beale as the Dean.

It is hard not to take sides in the religious battle that ensues once the Canon has shown his disagreement to support the eviction of the protestors and tweeted his resignation. Both the Canon and the Bishop verge on being caricatures in their grasp of modernism whereas the Dean remains steadfast to his views; St Paul’s has a lot more history than the banks, which have become the hated symbols of capitalism. However the Dean, while certain in his faith, struggles in the world of Twitter and flat whites. It is this new era of social media which both the Canon and the Bishop are embracing thus isolating the Dean except for his secretary, wonderfully played by Rebecca Humphries, who desperately tries to rationalise the arguments for him.

Waters’ writing is both touching and witty. The Dean flounders in his dilemma about whether to support the eviction when all he desires is to escape back to his previous position and enjoy the solitude of the sea pounding the rocks. But there is plenty of dry humour to stop the play from being melancholy as shown when the Dean ponders the actual existence of a religious correspondent for Sky News. I’m not sure if Waters wrote the play with Russell Beale in mind for the role but enjoy the confluence of writing and acting for it is spot on.