John Patrick Shanley’s play first appeared in 2004, the era of known unknowns. His parable about a priest suspected of abuse was, he has said, partly prompted by the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq: war justified by unproven conviction. He depicts a 1960s Bronx school where Sister Aloysius (Maxine Peake), implacable school principal, insists that Father Flynn (Ben Daniels) has behaved inappropriately towards Donald, the school’s sole Black student – yet she lacks evidence.
Peake maintains a beady eye and ramrod straight spine. Her deep, rustbucket voice of judgment is cut with a squeal of contempt. Daniels leans into his twinkle. His sermons sound like a hand extended to the congregation; his vestment gleams a verdant green. Her starch meets his charisma; dogged belief confronts impassioned rebuttal.
Shanley sets his play precisely in 1964 – pop culture and protest will soon ignite the US, yet the school appears impervious to change. On Peter McKintosh’s inhospitable set, its walls a grim charcoal, only a leafless branch and bare swathe of earth hint at autumn.
Lindsay Posner’s emphatic production is finely cast, but as the play reaches its pointy confrontations, he has the actors slow down and shout it out. Thumpity argument is effective, but Shanley’s play could be more spry and guileful. An earlier scene has greater spark – Flynn slipping into the principal’s chair as if by right, a convivial atmosphere suddenly bristling.
The Catholic church’s cruel mishandling of abuse has only become more evident since Doubt premiered – though we now try to foreground survivors. Shanley doesn’t bring Donald on stage (nor does the boy accuse Flynn) – rather, we see his mother (Rachel John, poised and wary) with her own reasons for not joining Sister Aloysius’ crusade.
Sister James (Holly Godliman, excellent), the young nun who first raises suspicions, loses sleep and peace of mind. Doubt prowls around the mess of human motive. “Things are in the air and you leave them alone if you can,” declares Donald’s mother – but how do you live with the things you’d rather not know?
• At Ustinov Studio, Bath, until 8 March
