DOUBT, A PARABLE by John Patrick Shanley, directed by Marti Maraden (Canadian Stage). At the Bluma Appel (27 Front East). Runs to May 30, Monday-Saturday 8 pm, matinees Wednesday 1:30 pm, Saturday 2 pm. $20-$90, limited rush and Mon pwyc. 416-368-3110, canstage.com. See listing. Rating: NN
John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt, A Parable is a crafty piece of writing, and if the performances aren’t sufficiently nuanced, it feels like just another cle ver puzzle piece. And that’s what’s happened with this Canadian Stage production.
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Veteran nun Sister Aloysius, a stickler for Catholic convention, suspects progressive priest Father Flynn of sexually interfering with the only black boy in the school. Sister James is the younger, innocent nun who gets caught between the two. The key to the aptly named piece is that we’re not supposed to be sure if the priest is innocent or guilty.
David Storch is excellent as the beleaguered priest, torn and eventually terrified by Sister Aloysius’s charges. Raven Dauda really nails it as the young boy’s mother with her own agenda.
But Daniella Vlaskovic as Sister James is simply annoying, too physical for a role that demands more meekness, and her voice is absolutely grating. Director Marti Maraden should have toned the performance down.
Curiously, the weakest link is the usually impeccable Seana McKenna as Sister Aloysius. She hasn’t found the complexity in the role, playing her as a battleaxe instead of someone who’s had the kind of experience through the years that might make us think she’s got Father Flynn’s number. She can’t be just the meanie. Both she and Flynn have to be sympathetic or the piece doesn’t work.
And what’s the rush? You get the sense that McKenna hasn’t settled into the role yet. All her lines are fired off machine-gun-style, and on opening night there was barely a pause in the entire piece, the notable exception being Storch’s in a key scene near the end.
For example, in response to Sister James’s suggestion that something strange might be going on between Flynn and Donald Muller, Sister Aloysuis says, “So, it’s happened,” and we need to sit with that statement for a second. This is a thinking person’s piece – give us time to think. And the last, crucial line of the play comes out of nowhere.
One more thing, something I’ve mentioned before about Canadian Stage productions of British plays. What’s with the accents? While the film has a specific Bronx setting, there is nothing in the play to suggest that it’s set in a specific location. Less concentration on the accent and more on the emotion would have served the play well.
And we’ve already imported the play – which is fine in this case, as it’s a Pulitzer Prize winner – so why import the American designer, John Lee Beatty? His is a ho-hum set that any number of homegrown talents could have bested. I mean, isn’t the production company called Canadian Stage?
