Canadian Stage in Toronto Ends Its Hot Theatre Season With Doubt
Doubt, A Parable by John Patrick Shanley Casts Its Shadow on the Canadian Theatre Public
May 11, 2009
Doubt, A Parable, the final production for the Canstage 2008/2009 season, comes with heavy successful baggage. It won the Pulitzer Prize in 2005 and went on to win many other drama prizes. The film version starring the sensational Meryl Streep and Phillip Seymour Hoffman was a huge hit and received five Oscar nominations, including one for Best Writing and one each for every member of its wonderful cast.
Doubt : The Setting, The Times
Doubt is set in a Bronx Catholic School in 1964. It was a period of much turmoil in North America. The Civil Rights movement was on the upswing. Women were speaking out, challenging the status quo. Liberalism and challenging authority was on the rise.
Churches were affected by these changes. Less available candidates for the priesthood and priests with a more humane outlook were invading and challenging the old authority. Father Flynn, played superbly in this production by David Storch, represented that: a priest who openly expressed his Doubt; the play opens with his sermon on Doubt.
The Church, represented by Sister Aloysius, played prissily by Seana Mckenna, would have none of this. The weakness displayed by a priest who was too neat, too worldly, with fingernails that were too long and with doubt, was to be cut off.
The Clash Of The Old Order And The New
There are two other innocent victims caught up in this tug of war. One is Sister James, a young history-loving nun, who just wanted to teach and believe in the innocence and goodness of life. She is told to cut that naivety out, to be skeptical and that "Innocence is a form of laziness."
The other victim is a young frightened boy who happens to be the first Negro student at the school. His need for friendship causes him to be protected by Father Flynn, who is suspected of engaging in improper behavior with him.
Sister Aloysius has some battles of her own. She has little faith in the honesty and the authority of the men who run the church, which leads her to ambush father Flynn with her accusations in her office under the guise of discussing the new secular direction that the Christmas pageant has taken, which she (surprise surprise!) dislikes.
Drawn into the battle is the poor beleaguered boy's mother ,Mrs Muller, played very sympathetically by Raven Dauda. Her love for her son is touching, even though she is not quite sure if he is or isn’t what her husband and others suspects he is.
The final showdown is a great battle of wits. With Father Flynn desperately questioning Sister Aloysius' certainty and vowing to fight her; she coldly replies: “You Will Lose”.
The Questions Raised by Doubt
Doubt A Parable, as a play does not have answers. It leaves a lot of questions. People who have read all the news about the Catholic Church and its various priests who were accused and found guilty of being sexual predators would definitely see things one way. The other staunch believers in innocence before guilt would absolutely have another opinion.
By not answering any of these questions, Doubt does its job of being theatre that provokes discussions and ideas. Go catch the play at the Bluma Appel Theatre, see what all the Doubt is about.
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