Review | Doubt: A Parable, at Chichester Festival Theatre: 'A top-notch production'

It is an unlikely fate for the show, having been rescheduled from March last year due to the pandemic.

But whether intentional or not, it doesn’t matter; the result is the same.

After a turbulent couple of years, the ship has been well and truly set back on course with this top-notch production.

A Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winner which was adapted into an equally acclaimed film starring Meryl Streep and Viola Davis in 2008, this is a play with pedigree.

Set in a Bronx Catholic church and school in the 1960s, the premise is simple. Headteacher Sister Aloysius believes one of the church’s priests, Father Flynn, is abusing a male pupil.

The next 90 minutes or so sees the formidable Sister Aloysius embark on her moral crusade to expose him: coyly, euphemistically at first, but gathering strength like a hurricane which engulfs not only the accused but the boy’s mother and teacher.

A role this meaty calls for an actor of magnitude, a call answered by Olivier Award-winner Monica Dolan.

She reworks the same terrifying stare that won her a BAFTA for playing Rose West on television, masterfully bringing out the villain in Sister Aloysius.

But as Father Flynn says, nothing is black or white – and she also brings to life the character’s sharp sense of humour that cuts even in the darkest moments, as well as a fierce protectiveness of her pupils behind the icy exterior.

With a performance like this, Dolan should clear some more room on her trophy shelf.

Sam Spruell is like a long-lost Kennedy brother, imbuing Father Flynn with Hollywood charisma - a great bit of casting which adds to the confusion surrounding the truth of his actions.

While the interactions of accused and accuser are blistering, the play’s standout moment is between Sister Aloysius and the boy’s mother, Mrs Muller.

There are few characters which leave such an impression with so little stage time – and over the span of mere minutes Rebecca Scroggs gave me shivers: proving you do not need to shout to be heard loudest.

Thought-provoking and creating more questions than it provides answers, this is one that will stay with you long after the show ends.

The only thing I’m certain of is that the next production to grace the Festival Theatre stage has a tough act to follow.

Until February 5.