The Plough and the Stars

by Sean O'Casey

seen at the National Theatre (Lyttleton) on 25 August 2016

Jeremy Herrin and Howard Davies have co-directed this revival of Sean O'Casey's play set in 1915 and 1916, marking the centenary of the Easter Rising in Dublin. The set, designed by Vicki Mortimer, shows us a crumbling tenement in Dublin - first the Clitheroe's flat, then a nearby pub, then the outside of the tenement, and finally the attic flat. A clever use of the revolve reveals the general seediness of the area, and, later, the dangers arising from the street fighting of the uprising.

Temple

by Steve Waters

seen at the Donmar Warehouse on 11 June 2015

The play, directed by Howard Davies and designed by Tim Hatley, features Simon Russell Beale as the Dean, Rebecca Humphries as the PA, Paul Higgins as the Canon Chancellor, Anna Calder-Marshall as the Virger, Malcolm Sinclair as the Bishop of London, and Shereen Martin as the City lawyer. It is set in the Chapter House of St Paul's Cathedral on the morning after the Chapter decided to support the City of London's application for an injunction to evict the Occupy movement from St Paul's Churchyard in late October 2011, which led to the immediate resignation of the Canon Chancellor (and the eventual resignation of the Dean).

The room in the Chapter House looks like a comfortable board room with gracious proportions and large sash windows. Outside is the imposing cathedral, but the sounds wafting through are those of the Occupy encampment, with the remorseless tolling of the church bells lending urgency to the general sense of crisis, as the Dean prepares to re-open the church after a fortnight's controversial closure, and the Canon Chancellor's public announcement of his resignation through Twitter appears to betray the collegiate sense of responsibility on which the Dean relies.