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Stars explained: * A production of no real merit
with failings in all areas. ** A production showing evidence of not
enough time or effort, or even talent, and which never breathes any real
life into the piece – or a show lumbered with a terrible script. *** A
good enjoyable show which might have some small flaws but has largely
achieved what it set out to do.**** An excellent show which shows a
great deal of work and stage craft with no noticeable or major
flaws.***** A four star show which has found that extra bit of magic
which lifts theatre to another plane. |
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Doubt
The Highbury PlayersHighbury Theatre Centre
**** SEXUAL abuse within the Catholic Church
seems a hot subject these days. Not a sentence I ever dreamed of
starting a review with, but true nonetheless. Full marks, then, to The Highbury Players for
both their timing and their decision to stage a play that will
undoubtedly sit uneasily with some members of the Catholic persuasion. John Patrick Shanley’s brave exposition of the
goings on inside a New York Church School in the early 1960s highlights
what many have suspected for years In recent times, more and more people have come
forward to report serious abuse by individuals or organisations that had
previously hidden behind the belief that they were beyond the law. The
Catholic Church was no exception.
Brian Hills’s simply
staged production allows the dialogue to t
Malcolm Robertshaw’s set is appropriately
uncluttered and functional. Projected backdrops of Catholic imagery add
colour and context as well as filling scene change time. Whilst the
surrounding may be simple and appropriate, the intentions of one
particular priest within these holy walls are certainly not.
Valerie Tomlinson brings a respectable authority
in the role of Sister the head of the school who is brave and big
enough to bring a dark secret into the open. It's not simply a school
‘staffing problem’ she is exposing, it's an endemic crisis within an
established, worldwide institution. A lot of weight on her troubled
shoulders. In what is her first stage performance, Ciara
O’Sullivan makes an impressive debut as the young, impressionable Sister
James. Much more to come, it would seem, if this is her first outing. Sandra McDonald brings real emotion as Mrs
Muller, the mother of the boy suspected of being abused. Her dilemma is
made clear. Upset as she is about what is happening, she is afraid to
rock the boat and of the consequences that might follow if she made a
complaint. The scene between Muller and Sister Beauvoir is,
for me, the strongest in the play. There are tweaks to be made, of course. Accents
sometimes falter, pace could be speeded up and some of the sound cues
could be re-worked. But these are minor in what is mostly a polished
piece of theatre. This is a challenging, potentially uncomfortable
piece of writing that addresses a very real and ongoing issue. Well
staged, and well acted - it may not be a message you want to hear but
it’s certainly a play you should see. To 19-03-16 Tom Roberts 09-03-16 |
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ake
centre stage. It's very much a play that requires an audience to listen
and digest the often lengthy exchanges. There is a danger, of course,
that to make the action so minimal it almost becomes a live radio play.
Nuns discussing serious issues on a bench for more than ten minutes may
well be central to the plot, but any more than that would even test the
patience of the most avid