Doubt---a parable

(Theatre Works, 19 July 2008)
The entire play is less than the sum of the scenes that it contains. The grotesque fallibility of characters prevents the play from raising moral dilemmas that linger after the curtain drops. To the credit of the actors, however, the grotesque characters are not accompanied by grotesque performances.

Sister James (Kristin Stokes) is prepared to compromise her knowledge of the truth in order to please others and especially be pleased by others. Sister Aloysius (Kimberly King) values the perceived safety of her pupils above their happiness; she also values her mental routines above her happiness. Infantile Father Brendan Flynn (Cassidy Brown) lacks confidence in himself and constantly seeks approval. By the end of the play, everyone, including the prosecutor Sister Aloysius and the plaintiff Father Flynn, are consumed by "doubt," which gives the rise to the title of the play.

Does the hierarchical authority of the church, the "certainties" of religion , and the unconditional approval of god disproportionately attract people who lack self-confidence? the kind of people who populate the play?

The play is at its best if perceived as a series of sketches. The scene with Mrs Muller (Tamiyka White) is a potent one. Not blinded by the black-and-white simplicity often sought for in religion, she is a consequentialist. She realises that most situations in life involve trade-offs. This conflict between consequentialist and deontological views could have constituted a core conflict in the play. Short of changing the subject of the play, removing the ending in which Sister Aloysius suffers from the pangs of doubt would have made the narrative less didactic and left some food for thought for the audience.