Second Temple Review: Sophie Stemmons’ Play Tackles the Trials and Tribulations of Family Gatherings
Image via Xander Pang
Our reviewer Ruby Dunbar, praises a well written and realised piece, with real and relatible characters placed front and centre.
It is obvious why Sophie Stemmons won the Footlights Harry Porter Prize for Second Temple. The play (currently at the Corpus Playroom) was awarded for its comedy and centres on a Jewish family as they gather for Hanukkah and attend the funeral of the family patriarch It is a study of the difficulties of familial dysfunction and generational differences while also managing to be genuinely funny. The humour and wit of Stemmons’ script is only heightened in this production, directed by Xander Pang – each actor has nailed their character, and they are easily identifiable as people in our own lives. Above all, this play feels like real life.
The perfectly painful Fleabag-esque opening, in which Rachel (Alix Addinall) leaves a string of rambling voicemails to her boss, sets the tone for the struggle for communication in the play. Most poignantly, Stemmons understands the unique ache of mother-daughter relationships. When Rachel arrives home, her mother, Sarah (Tabitha Tucker), talks over her and does not know that her daughter has been a vegetarian for five years. Visually, they are clearly from different generations: Rachel is young and cool and visibly queer, while Sarah has a sweater tied around her shoulders and a poster that declares ‘It’s wine o’clock!’ Sarah, too, struggles with her mother, Leah (Sameera Bowers), as neither seems to grasp the sacrifices the other has made. Tucker has mastered the clenched jaw and strained smile of a mother.
Rachel’s brother, Joshua (Jack Hawkins), arrives at the perfect time. He is the undeserved favourite child: his heartfelt acoustic performance of ‘It’s coming home’ is met with tears and applause from his mother and uncle, David (Dilan Shant). Rachel’s feelings of frustration and injustice, which are ignored in a bid to keep the peace, are another example of Stemmons’ understanding of what it’s like to be a sibling. When conflict breaks out between the older generation, however, any bad blood is forgotten, and they band together in fleeing the awkward situation. Sarah and David prove that this pettiness is never left in the past, that ageing does not mean maturing when it comes to a sibling relationship.
Bathsheeba (Naphysa Awuah) is an incredibly well-realised character. You can understand who this Tarot card-reading, free spirit ‘DJ Jezebel’ is immediately, and Awuah’s excellent comedic timing and exaggerated facial expressions were a perfect fit. The conversation between Bathsheeba and Rachel about intimacy and lesbian relationships was a favourite moment in the play. It explores the feeling of wanting to be wanted rather than just desired and of knowing that a relationship is doomed, as well as seeing Peppa Pig and Suzy Sheep being hailed as one of the only good examples of lesbian representation. The play is as much about what is not said as what is, and the hush-hush around Lucy’s ‘good friend’ (girlfriend) Lucy (Esther Welbrock) is a sadly recognisable moment for queer people. Emotional distance is forced upon familial relationships by generational differences.
In Second Temple, no character feels that they are appreciated as much as they should be. The play is a realistic, well-observed depiction of people and how their relationships function. Each character is vastly different from the next and they have very few shared interests (apart from David and Joshua – they can chat about football and the problems created by women), yet they are brought together through the bonds of history and family. While the audience may not entirely identify with one character, Stemmons presents so many avenues of relatability that the play is universally accessible. Familial relationships are fraught with frustration as well as being full of love, and Second Temple captures these dynamics with humour and heart.
Second Temple is on at the Corpus Playroom until Saturday the 28th of October.