Doubt

When you get your hands on the script of what is reckoned to be one of the most powerful pieces of modern drama you hope you're going to do it justice. 'Doubt' - in the hands of Christopher Gabardi, who plays the accused priest Father Flynn, appears to have no problems on that score, since he's been called back for a return season of this blockbuster of a play, which looks at the Catholic Church in a scarifying piece about culpability and justice - but of the individual.

Look to the title; that one word, "doubt", speaks volumes about the role of the Church in the present day. It occurs to me that in a way, since the sole basis for authority for the Church lies with faith, that the story of 'Doubt' is essentially one of the Church (faith) questioning itself, since Father Flynn maintains his innocence in the face of the assertions by Sister Aloysius (played by Jennifer Flowers). This is the central drama of the whole piece.

"140 shows," Gabardi breathes at the memory of it, "and it just got better and better. One thing I really like is that it's just really exciting to see a new modern American writing.

"Not that you'll pick this up from the play, as you see it, but John Patrick Shanley originally wrote 'Doubt' as a reaction to living under the rule of George W Bush. He was bemoaning the loss of the thought process which allows doubt." The result was a play which won four Tony Awards (including Best Play) and followed that up with the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. This, clearly, is a forceful and provocative play.

Gabardi explains it thus: "Modern politicians don't have doubt anymore because it's a sign of weakness. So, at the absolute root of this play is the idea of truth, and it's very clever in that it's set in the 60s, because we have the benefit of hindsight and know what went on. What went on in the Church, and how it was dealt with."

I don't necessarily see that placing the play in the 1960s makes it any the more powerful or enhances it in the way that Gabardi seems to suggest, but he has a clear advantage in having been a part of it for such a time, whereas I've not seen it performed. It may be, I suppose, that 'Doubt' became more palatable to American audiences through the device of them being able to believe it spoke of a time gone by, rather than of the current, even though a furore broke out in mid 2005 over the role of the Archbishop of New York and his role in the activities of paedophiles within the Church.

'What,' I ask, 'do the Church think of 'Doubt' and do they come and see the performance?'

"How does a devout Catholic deal with it? Well, they do come, and when priests or nuns come and see it they're remarkably well researched. I've found they'd all read the play and knew it well.

"Above all," he affirms, "'Doubt' works through those which assail the one character, the one individual... this play deals a little with that, with ideas such as 'how can we be sure?', 'is it just a feeling?', and these are the sorts of things I find fascinating.

Flynn, he says, placing his character into some kind of context for me, is a likable character, one of the new breed of "cool priests" who came into the Catholic Church during the social upheavals and changes in America in the 1960s. As the Parish Priest he comes head to head with the face of the traditional Church, Sister Aloysius, a nun who runs the Catholic school in the old-fashioned and disciplined way. Gradually she comes to suspect the priest of having improper dealings with the one black child at the school, and things come to a head...

"... and so in the clash with the older nun, Flynn exemplifies and embraces the change which comes with the Second Vatican Council," suggests Gabardi. The groundbreaking Council was held from 1962 and signalled a softening of some attitudes on the part of the Catholic Church. Clearly, not all members of the Church shared those views.

"She truly believes she's a moral crusader, and that her faith lead her to do this - to be so intransigent, and that she acts on behalf of the boy. What she's doing is quite extraordinary, given the time," says Gabardi.

"For my character, I had to make decision in playing the character, as to how I present Father Flynn to the rest of the cast... I had to decide in my own mind whether I thought he was guilty or not, and then play the character accordingly. The Director said 'don't tell me, don't tell the other actors'. I've stuck to that, but it's just enhanced my take on Father Flynn a little in the course of the play. Over the last couple of years, of course."



Alex Wheaton

'Doubt' opens at The Playhouse on Wed 5 Sept