Taut, thrilling battle of truth, faith and conviction.

“What do you do when you’re not sure?”

That is how John Patrick Shanley’s play Doubt: A Parable opens, in a sermon by the popular and charismatic parish priest Father Flynn. It is a strange question, particularly one that is raised by a man of the cloth who should embody total and complete faith. Yet Father Flynn goes on to even vouch for such doubt, where in in the fall of 1964, the wake of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination and fear is abound, he claims that sharing such doubt leads to a sense of community, a bond that could in fact, be more powerful than common belief.

Directed by Timothy Koh, Pangdemonium’s new staging of this play then dives into an intense clash of opinions, as the other nuns of St Nicholas church and school begin to develop their own doubts as to why Father Flynn (Jason Godfrey) would deliver such a sermon, linking it to potential transgressions and odd behaviour they’ve been noticing. Principal Sister Aloysius (Neo Swee Lin) leads the charge, as she becomes fixated on the idea that Father Flynn may have been behaving inappropriately with Donald Muller, the only black student at the school, doing everything in her power to fuel her conviction and find him guilty. Beyond the general theme of doubt, Doubt: A Parable thus also touches on issues of abuse in the Catholic Church, race-relations in the ’60s, and power and hierarchy in religious institutions, all fuelling new tensions and uncertainties.

Assisting her is the younger Sister James (Ching Shu Yi), who simply wants to do a good job, show passion in her work, and adopt a more nurturing approach towards her students. But under the intimidating stare and repeated berating of Sister Aloysius to stick with tradition and refrain from showing too much emotion, Sister James’ ideals are suppressed. Even when she finally does have her triumphant moment where she pushes back, she meekly withdraws when she realises what she’s done, and as the most junior member in the room, has no say and no choice but to do the right thing by her superiors. By siding with Sister Aloysius, this leads her to casting suspicion on Father Flynn, her opinion easily shifting each time either side showcases new alibis or damning evidence, rather than prolonging the conflict.

Doubt: A Parable has won numerous accolades for good reason – it’s a taut, tightly-scripted play that manages to keep audience members engaged throughout despite its dialogue-heavy scenes. Staged as theatre-in-the-round at the Singtel Waterfront Theatre, Eucien Chia’s set is deceptively simple, yet hugely effective, showcasing Sister Aloysius’ office, almost like the inner sanctum of a church with only a grand desk at centre stage, with only an ink pen, a red rotary telephone, and a stool, feeling cloistered and closed off, just like her personality and raising the sense of confinement each time a conflict emerges. When Father Flynn delivers his sermons, he stands atop the table with the light shining down upon him, giving him height, elevation and authority over us all, while at other points, the audience feels as if we are looking down at a colosseum where fierce battles are being waged each time the characters come into conflict with each other.

Timothy Koh’s dynamic direction also ensures that characters are constantly moving around the set without it being disruptive, such that everyone in the theatre can see the cast’s faces at some point, while also feeling as if they are engaged in a chase between hunter and hunted. There is almost the sense of the clandestine, with the lamp-like lights casting shadows over the stage, as if to highlight how these characters’ distrust of each other fills the air, each time they meet. No one’s allegiances are fixed, and it’s every man for himself and his beliefs, which the cast brings out well as we ourselves also constantly find ourselves doubting our initial opinions, as we struggle to grasp the truth.

Timothy’s cast are mostly comfortable in their roles, and each bring their own flavour to their character. Jason Godfrey imbues a devastating charm to Father Flynn, his demeanour confident yet relatable, and a priest you’d naturally want to confess to, only to reveal a deep-seated fear and anger when cornered. Ching Shu Yi brings an innocence and vulnerability to her role as Sister James, unsure of herself and harnessing an almost constant sense of worry with the hesitance in her voice, a character you end up sympathising for as she is subject to the whims of those around her.

But it is Neo Swee Lin who commands the stage each time she appears, a character you love to hate as she embodies the strictest of nuns, refusing modernity even in the way she scoffs at ballpoint pens, refusing to believe in a gentler approach and always wearing a scowl on her face. A de facto antagonist, Sister Aloysius remains the most fascinating character, in her complete rejection of doubt that keeps her laser-focused, shrewd and unmovable in her faith, and Swee Lin brings out that tenacity and determination in all her lines. To that end, it takes an equally strong actress to rival that and shake her belief, and in her one scene with Mrs Muller, Sharon Frese plays a powerful counterforce as she systematically dismantles Sister Aloysius’ assumptions, realising her concerns go far beyond her narrow-minded view that never considers racial politics.

Further adding to these performances is how much research Leonard Augustine Choo has put into his costume design. Not only has he succeeded at ensuring period-accurate costumes for each character, right down to keeping rosaries within their habits, but also implemented design choices that add to their characterisation and performance. Father Flynn, in a scene where he leads a basketball lesson, is dressed in bright blue and sweatpants, giving the impression of an overconfident jock who rules the school. Both Sisters Aloysius and James wear bonnets that are slightly different, referencing how they were all handmade at the time, while Mrs Muller, in a mauve ensemble complete with pillbox hat, represents her need to show up well-dressed to present a degree of class when she meets Sister Aloysius, and avoiding negative stereotype.

Throughout the play, what matters most is conversation – as a means of clarifying, defending, accusing, and establishing control. Every scene always showcases a buildup of such conversation between the various characters, whether it’s Sister Aloysius’ blind spots showing up in her talk with Mrs Muller, or Father Flynn’s attempt to befriend Sister James. Everyone has an ulterior motive behind each exchange, and it always feels as if they have space and opportunity to talk things out and clear the air, only to fail and recede even further into their own perspectives rather than dare consider an alternative.

As accusations fly and the characters continue to doubt each other, so do we as the nature of events becomes increasingly shady, and morally grey. What initially seems like a case of an overactive imagination and misplaced assumption evolves into something darker, as issues of power and race cloud the execution of ‘justice’, or even create more questions on what exactly is the ‘right’ thing to do. It is precisely this that leaves us unsure, where the communal experience of theatre makes us feel closer to each other in our shared doubt, learning to accept that the truth is unstable.

Harkening back to its title, Doubt: A Parable is a play that is presented not for us to come to a clear conclusion on who did what, but for us to think about and understand the forces shaping the events that have unfolded before us. We recall how Father Flynn breaks the fourth wall in his sermons, and we feel like the congregation, the jurors, the witnesses, to learn from and consider all this. Watching as Sister Aloysius breaks down after putting up a strong front for so much of the play, the lesson we learn is that reality is rarely pure and never simple, and we must allow space for discourse and room for doubt, in order to form a fully realised opinion and solution that considers facts and viewpoints beyond one’s own limited perspective.

Photo Credit: CRISPI

Doubt: A Parable plays from 2nd to 18th June 2023 at the Singtel Waterfront Theatre, Esplanade. Tickets available here

Read our interview with the director and cast of Doubt: A Parable here

Production Credits:

Director: Timothy Koh

Writer: John Patrick Shanley

Cast: Jason Godfrey Neo Swee Lin Ching Shu Yi Sharon Frese

Set Designer Eucien Chia

Lighting Designer Genevieve Peck

Sound Designer Daniel Wong

Costume Designer Leonard Augustine Choo Hair Designer Leong Lim