Doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty. When you are in doubt, you are not alone…,” says the character of Father Flynn in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Doubt: A Parable. This dialogue, a response to the incessant attacks on his progressive views by the strict traditionalist and upholder of the norms of the Catholic Church, Sister Aloysius Beauvier, prompted Sohaila Kapur to reflect on our times. Such reflections led her to bring this layered story of doubt and distrust to life in Delhi’s Habitat Centre in two exclusive performances, made in collaboration with her theatre group Katyayani Theatre Group and Anuradha Dar’s Three Arts Club.
Originally written by playwright John Patrick Shanley, the play explores themes surrounding suspicion and intolerance and the effect they have on the human psyche and relationships. Set in a Catholic Church in 1960s America, in the aftermath of President John F Kennedy’s assassination and the backdrop of the civil rights movement, the play follows the story of a priest, accused by a nun who is the principal of a Catholic school, of indulging in inappropriate behaviour with a young boy of colour. The priest vehemently denies the charge, yet is castigated by the nun who remains firm in her belief and opinions. With no concrete evidence to support the claim and a clear difference of opinions of the two main characters, it is left to the audience to ascertain the priest’s guilt.
“We chose this play because it deals with many issues that are relevant today,” Kapur says. “Issues like distrust, intolerance, gender inequality, suspicion, and the nature of truth. After my last play, which celebrated relationships, I wanted to explore another layer—the role of suspicion and uncertainty in human bonds. Doubt is a play that transcends time and geography. These issues are as relevant today as they were in the 1960s. It is a mirror that reflects our insecurities and forces us to ask—do we really know the truth, or only what we choose to believe?”
Over a gripping 90 minutes of stage performance, the four characters—Father Flynn played by Sanjeev Desai, Sister Aloysius by Kavita Seth, Sister James by Arti Nayar, and Mrs Muller by Kritika Bhatia—highlight deeply held societal prejudices involving gender politics, racism, and homosexuality, as well as a growing disillusionment with the stringent tenets of Catholicism.
The well-designed set aids in focusing attention on the actors and their lengthy conversations. Seth delivers a striking performance, never once wavering from her high ideals and belief in the existence of good and evil, with no space for grey areas. She is ably aided by Nayar’s naivete as a young nun whose love of teaching is branded as too frivolous an act for those in the service of God.
Doubt: A Parable, an attempt at highlighting the intense polarisation of opinions, is a play that resonates today as much as it did in 2004, when it was written, because distrust, intolerance, and the struggle for truth are battles far from won.