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Journalism of Courage
The Stein Auditorium stage at the India Habitat Centre was turned into a Bronx parish Church from the 1960s when Doubt: A Parable by John Patrick Shanley, a Pulitzer and Tony- award winning play, was presented to Delhi audiences earlier this month.
The church’s glass-stained window towered over the centre of the stage. Dressed in his white robe, Father Flynn walked to the centre of the stage and delivered his sermon on universality of the idea of doubt. His voice warm and convincing, even somewhat intimate; like he was trying to speak to the conscience of each and every person individually in the audience.
Directed by actor, journalist, playwright, and theatre personality Sohaila Kapur and produced by Anuradha Dar, the 90-minute production offered no neat answers but drew applause and a standing ovation from the audience, thus proving its continuing relevance and impact. The play was staged under a special license from Shanley’s agents, for two exclusive performances in Delhi.
Originally produced for Broadway, the play was also adapted into a movie in 2008 starring Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams and Viola Davis in pivotal roles and was directed by Shanley.
The backdrop for the play is the America of the 1960s, during the Civil Rights Movement and the unrest during it. Doubt confronts the themes of suspicion, power and faith. The play is set in a Catholic Church, where Sister Aloysius (Kavita Seth), the stern principal who demands that the children lead a disciplined life, is convinced that Father Flynn (Sanjiv Desai), the parish priest, has crossed his boundaries with a young Black pupil, Donald Muller. She firmly believes it but she lacks clear evidence to back her belief. To help her in proving Father Flynn guilty, she recruits Sister James (Arti Nayar) a young nun to keep an eye out, while Mrs Muller (Kritika Bhatia), the mother of the boy, brings the twist to the tale when she confesses to some truths that no one is comfortable with. Mrs Muller says that for her son, the school is an asylum from racism elsewhere. Either guilty or not guilty, she implies, Father Flynn’s compassion is the sole thing that might be keeping the boy alive.
With her direction, Kapur manages to balance restraint and intensity with a few moments of chuckles. In one remarkable sequence, Sister Aloysius looms by the table in the study, where Father Flynn is sitting on the edge of the chair, his hand gripping the table, like he is showing his defiance and defense against the grave accusations. Seth’s voice is clipped, her body language showcasing the sternness of someone who believes that their ways are the only right ones, whereas Desai’s warmer tone and the exasperation in his voice for being accused, makes it difficult for the audience to pick a side. Is she a moral guardian or just a person who is stuck to her ways and not in favour of any change; or is he just a kind priest, who is more approachable or a manipulator who hides behind his charm?
Nayar’s portrayal of Sister James, who is optimistic about the world, in her plain bonnet and loose black cape, collapses under suspicion. In the garden scene, where she sits on the bench and initiates a conversation with Father Flynn, her tense posture reflects her inner conflict — a young woman questioning not only her superior or priest, but her own vocation.
Speaking on why she chose to bring Doubt to the audience in Delhi, Kapur said that the play had powerful characters. “The theme and ideas that Doubt talks about are not bound by time and geography. It is as relevant today as it was in 1960s America. It forces us to ask — do we really know the truth, or only what we choose to believe?” She also adds that another key factor that drew her attention was the fact that only few in Delhi were familiar with Shanley’s text.
While designing the set for the play, Kapur did not want a basic design where the furniture had to be moved around after each scene. And moreover there wasn’t any possibility for a rotating stage to be set up. “So we decided that we will divide the stage into three sections — the pulpit, with a stained glass window from where the light streams in; the study of sister Aloysius; and the Garden with the artificial flowers.” Nayar, who also worked as the set designer, put together the stage in a way that allowed flow of movement for the actors without any disruption.
Doubt speaks to us now, as much as it did to the 1960s America. The play refuses to give us a simple answer. It makes you uncomfortable, it makes you doubt your conclusion and your beliefs. It asks you to look beyond what meets your eyes. And once the curtain falls, the audience are left behind in suspended judgment, making them question their own stance and understanding.
