Taken as a biographical whole, the "final act" of the remarkable life story of Rudolf Steiner, the original and preeminent spiritual warrior of the twentieth century, begins with the destruction by fire of the original Goetheanum building on New Year's Eve 1922 and proceeds through the almost unfathomable exertions of creativity that followed before his death in 1925. Although this "final act" of a single life is in a way the main subject of Glen Williamson's Fire in the Temple , this story, dramatized here for the first time, is more than a portrait of a single remarkable man, his closest circle of friends and co-workers, and the spiritual movement he initiated. Touching on the inner reality of repeated earth lives, and intimating something of the grave responsibilities of those who would follow Steiner's path, here is a drama of life and spirit, of past and present and future, meticulously researched, that, following Dr. Steiner himself, delivers the possibility of individual awakening. “ powerful . . . brilliant . . . compelling . . . incandescent . . . a documentary, a  comedy of manners, a tragedy, and a mystery drama woven into one.” - Eugene Schwartz “beautifully sensitive…artistic genius, …spiritually intimate.” - Andrew Wolpert “―meticulously researched―artistically crafted―stunningly performed . . . a powerful  feeling for the weaving of destiny.”   – Gloria Kemp, Waldorf-education consultant “Truly amazing. I sat mesmerized. . . [it] was so full and the images captivating. I am still  feeling the effects from it. . . beautiful experience. It will be with me for some time!” – Diane Prusha, Actress, Shakespeare & Company, Lenox, MA “It was deeply moving…wonderfully written…and the same questions live today… With  tears I’m asking: Will we awake?” – Irena Valujeva, Camphill USA "powerful . . . brilliant . . . compelling . . . incandescent . . . a documentary, a comedy of manners, a tragedy, and a mystery drama woven into one." - Eugene Schwartz "beautifully sensitive...artistic genius, ...spiritually intimate."- Andrew Wolpert "-meticulously researched-artistically crafted-stunningly performed . . . a powerful feeling for the weaving of destiny." - Gloria Kemp, Waldorf-education consultant "Truly amazing. I sat mesmerized. . . [it] was so full and the images captivating. I am still feeling the effects from it. . . beautiful experience. It will be with me for some time!!!" - Diane Prusha, Actress, Shakespeare & Company, Lenox, MA "It was deeply moving...wonderfully written...and the same questions live today... With tears I'm asking: Will we awake?" - Irena Valujeva, Camphill USA Glen Williamson ―traveling actor, storyteller, and playwright based in New York City―tours North America and Europe with his original solo performances. He has played Johannes Thomasius in all four of Rudolf Steiner’s mystery dramas. With Laurie Portocarrero, he jointly created The Refugees’ Tale,  a theatrical free-rendering of Goethe’s Green Snake parable, and performs  Aeschylus Unbound,  which Glen coauthored with the late film star and anthroposophist Mala Powers. Preface In 1981, as a young student of theater and anthropology, I was sent, through an exchange program, to work as a stagehand on a full production of Goethe’s Faust at the Goetheanum, a massive strangely-shaped concrete theater building on a hill in Dornach, Switzerland, near Basel. This concrete Goetheanum had replaced a more elaborate double-domed wooden one that had burned down on New Year’s Eve 1922–23. The story of Fire in the Temple comes from what I learned during that summer of ‘81, as well as from many years―nearly four decades now―of subsequent conversations, study, research, and experiences. The specific idea of this play―chosen from among several possible projects―was conceived in September 2017, on a camping trip in Maine. Focused research and a quest through stacks of books followed, then numerous―both informal and semi-staged―readings, crucial input from dramaturgs and friends, countless rewrites and revisions, and a full production in September 2023. This script is the result. It is a history play about a group of people in Switzerland between the World Wars, a time of tremendous tensions and world-shaping decisions. I have tried to let these people speak for themselves and to reveal their inner experiences and their worldview. The play focuses on the last 27 months of Rudolf Steiner’s life―his relationships and deeds and the events surrounding them. Most of the words of the characters, especially of Steiner himself, are their own, translated from the German and edited and adapted for the theater.   Glen Williamson  September, 2018  New York City  revised April 2021 and August 2024