Cathedral
"I hope she’s happy. I do
Because if she’s not,
I mean if she didn’t skip town,
that means she’s still down there.
Underneath the cathedral.”
Shortlisted for the 2022 NSW Premier’s Prize.
Somewhere underneath the limestone coast, a diver wakes alone, at the bottom of a vast flooded sinkhole. But how did he get here? How long will his oxygen last? And whose voices call out from the dark?
From Mount Gambier to Thailand to the North Sea, from soaring first love to shattering loss to ultimate hope, Cathedral details a life shaped by the ocean, with all of its power to upend and heal our lives. The play asks why do some of us sink when others swim? What draws us down into the depths and what calls us back into the light? A life-affirming piece of storytelling, Cathedral asks the question: Do we turn away from our pain, or dive right in?
Cathedral was co-commissioned by State Theatre Company of South Australia and Country Arts South Australia and premiered in May 2022. Copies of the play can be purchased from Currency Press at https://www.currency.com.au/books/drama/cathedral/
LENGTH
80 minutes
CAST
A single actor onstage accompanied by a half-dozen voices.
REVIEWS
Breathless and breathtaking in its ambition, it is a superb achievement.
Adelaide Advertiser
Like its namesake, the structure of this play is grand, informative and magnificent. 5 stars.
Limelight Magazine
Expectations are overwhelmed.
The Barefoot Review
I found myself holding my breath in wonder. 5 stars.
Glam Adelaide
Caleb Lewis’ writing is hauntingly poetic, in a truly epic sense.
Theatre Travels
It has all the markings of a South Australian classic.
InDaily
He is a modern day poet who puts me in mind of Dylan Thomas
Glam Adelaide
Lewis does a superb job of capturing the embodied experience of diving, of hovering over landscapes. He captures the feelings of awe and wonder, but equally the residual fear and terror in the back of the mind of all divers – even experienced ones.
The Conversation
An exceptional & imaginative production that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Global Media Post
As Clay experiences the horrors of depth intoxication, he relives numerous intense emotional moments from his past …These memories are floating by, rather than flashing by, and that gives the play its beating heart.
Arts Hub
Moment by moment, we learn of life and its mysteries. Lewis builds our knowledge of Clay's history, incident by incident, leading to a transcendent climax.
Broadway World
A play that addresses difficult questions with poetry, precision and a redemptive heart
David Berthold
A remarkable performance in an excellent production of a fine new play, which is destined to be special, not only for South Australia, but beyond.
Australian Stage
10 out of 10.
Eventalaide
Ultimately the play’s greatest strength is its honesty.
The Conversation
It was brilliant, factually accurate, and actually quite haunting for someone who has been down there and experienced so many of the emotions portrayed.
Dr. Richard Harris, SC, OAM
(awarded Australian of the Year for his role in the Thai cave rescue)