Menu

Monica Dolan  Sam Spruell

Doubt: A Parable

By John Patrick Shanley

22 - 26 February Festival Theatre
Overview. Skip back to tab navigationCast and Creatives. Skip back to tab navigationGallery. Skip back to tab navigationPricing: Skip back to tab navigation

Overview

04/02/22

NEW DATES ADDED

We are delighted to announce a further week of performances for the critically acclaimed Doubt: A Parable from 22 - 26 February, following the forced cancellation of what would have been its final five performances due to a positive Covid case within the company.

★★★★★

Monica Dolan dazzles, Sam Spruell is equally magnificent in a drama of surefire brilliance

Guardian
★★★★★

Lia Williams' gripping production... one of the great plays about moral certainty and subjective truth

Telegraph
★★★★ 

Brilliantly acted philosophical crime drama

Times

Gripping, provocative, powerful: the very best kind of play

Chichester Observer
★★★★ 

Beautifully staged, chillingly effective

The Stage

Set in 1960s New York, Doubt is the gripping portrayal of the clash between two compelling characters. 

School principal Sister Aloysius Beauvier is wedded to tradition and unafraid to fight for her beliefs, while the basketball-playing priest and teacher Father Brendan Flynn is liberal-minded and charismatic. As mutual suspicion mounts, their actions become an epic battle of wills from which no one will emerge unscathed; but where does the truth lie?

John Patrick Shanley’s celebrated 2005 play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play, and later became an Oscar-nominated film.

An inspired study in moral uncertainty with the compellingly certain structure of an old-fashioned detective drama -  New York Times

That rarity of rarities, an issue-driven play that is unpreachy, thought-provoking and full of high drama - Wall Street Journal 

A lean, potent drama… passionate, exquisite, important, and engrossing - Newsday

Monica Dolan makes her Chichester debut as Sister Aloysius. Her BAFTA and Olivier Award-winning stage and screen work includes TV’s W1A, Appropriate Adult, A Very English Scandal and Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads; recent theatre includes Talking Heads (Bridge Theatre), Appropriate (Donmar Warehouse), All About Eve (West End) and her own play The B*easts.

Sam Spruell also appears at Chichester for the first time as Father Flynn. He has starred in many films and TV series, most recently Doctor Who, The North Water, Small Axe: Mangrove, Liar and Cold Blood. His theatre roles include Iago in Othello (Shakespeare’s Globe), Clybourne Park (Royal Court) and The Life of Galileo and The Alchemist (National Theatre).

Jessica Rhodes (Sister James) was nominated for The Stage Debut Award 2020 for the Best Performer in a Play and won the Off-West End Offie Award 2021 for Lead Performance in a Play for The Sugar Syndrome at the Orange Tree Theatre.

Rebecca Scroggs’ theatre credits include Ravens (Hampstead Theatre), Steel (Sheffield Crucible) and The Suicide (National Theatre), and on TV, Before We Die, Grace, Flack and Alex Rider.

Director Lia Williams was BAFTA-nominated for her short film The Stronger which won Best Short Film at Raindance; other directing credits include Ashes to Ashes as part of the Harold Pinter Season in the West End. She is also a multi award-winning actor.

Purchase a digital copy of the programme

Our programmes are designed to be the perfect insightful companion to the production. Our programmes are designed to be the perfect insightful companion to the production. The Doubt programme includes an an introduction to the play by the writer John Patrick Shanley and a Q&A with director Lia Williams and designer Joanna Scotcher, as well as rehearsal photography, biographies, events and news from the Theatre.

By clicking on BUY you will be re-directed to Issuu's website. The purchased programme will be available to read on their website and app. 

Purchasing a digital programme does not include the purchase of a printed programme.

You may also be interested in...

Prologue.

Cast & Creatives

Cast includes

  • Monica Dolan

    Sister Aloysius Beauvier

  • Sam Spruell

    Father Brendan Flynn

  • Jessica Rhodes

    Sister James

  • Rebecca Scroggs

    Mrs Muller

Creative team

Cast List
NameRole

Lia Williams

Director

Joanna Scotcher

Designer

Paul Keogan

Lighting Designer

Melanie Pappenheim and Giles Perring

Music and Sound

Susanna Peretz

Wigs, Hair and Make-Up Designer

Charlotte Sutton

Casting Director

Joe Lichtenstein

Associate Director

Camille Etchart

Associate Designer

Andrew Leighton

Associate Lighting Designer

Olamide Ajisafe

Assistant Director

Gallery

Gallery

Pricing

Pricing Information

Price bands for an event, organised by showing
Performance description Price Bands
Mon - Thu performances£10£18£26£34£39
Fri & Sat performances £10£18£29£38£41
  • Friends and Concessions Monday - Thursday: £2 off
  • Groups 8+ Monday -Thursday: 10% off
  • Schools and Student Groups 10+ Monday - Thursday: £8.50 per ticket; one free teacher ticket with every nine paid
  • All venues: Only one reduction applies per ticket, and all discounts are subject to availability and at the discretion of the Box Office.
  • Friends: Up to four discounted tickets per production
  • Access tickets may be available for Access Members Log in to your account to see Access seats
  • £5 Prologue Tickets may be available for 16-30 year olds Log in to your account to see Prologue seats

Q&A with Director Lia Williams

We caught up with director Lia Williams to find out more about this Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning play and what audiences can expect.

Doubt was written in 2004 and set in the 1960s - why are you putting it on now?

As the title suggests, this is a play about doubt. The opposite of doubt is certainty. Human beings feel safe with certainty. Today, especially in the world of social media, to express certainty in any social-political context, is seen as a strength, whereas doubt and uncertainty can seem to be fuzzy, weak-minded or idealistic; without defined borders - a grey area. If we condemn, from a place of unwavering certainty, we can feel sure-footed in the patterns of our belief systems and so we don’t need to ask questions. John Patrick Shanley’s play challenges the core of this received thinking and asks us to be open to all sides of an argument.

This play is a thrilling stand-alone, character-driven story but, for me, it rings a clear bell of warning to us all, right here and now, to stay fundamentally alive to ideas, not to be trapped by our thinking minds, to seek opinions, even ones we don’t like and don’t agree with and to stay open and prepared to learn. 

Why should people come to see it?

People should come in droves! It’s a stunning opportunity to see superb acting from top class award-winning actors. It’s a play that will have you on the edge of your seat. It’s entertaining, witty and ferocious in its delivery of a razor-sharp text. I believe you will leave the theatre richly satisfied having witnessed a truly engaging story. Plus, without an interval, it will fly by!

What do you hope audiences will take away?

Uncertainty. We need to challenge everything we are told and question everything we see.

Why did you want to direct Doubt?

I’m driven and inspired by great writing and the chance to direct a story with four fascinatingly different characters. This particular cast will set the Chichester stage alight. They are (without doubt) going to be magnificent!

Describe Doubt in three words

Topical, witty, dangerous.

Content and Themes

At CFT, we want everyone to feel truly welcome and comfortable. While we try not to spoil anyone’s enjoyment by giving away ‘spoilers’ such as plot twists and narrative surprises, we also recognise that some people may find certain themes distressing. You’ll find guidance on such content below; please be aware that by reading this, some elements of the plot may be revealed. Please note that this may be updated nearer the time of the production as staging details are confirmed.

If you have any questions or feedback, do email us at marketing@cft.org.uk

Doubt

Language: None
Nudity: None
Violence: None
Themes: The relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and the community. Suspected child sexual abuse. Belief, trust, moral certainty.

COVID Guidelines

Welcoming you to the Theatre safely

The following measures will be in place for your visit. We always ensure that our procedures are in line with current government guidelines, so please do check the website, and this page before your visit for the latest information.

  • In accordance with the latest government guidance, face coverings are strongly recommended for the duration of your visit, (except while you are eating and drinking) unless you are exempt for health reasons, or for children under the age of 11.
  • We do not currently require a vaccine passport or a negative test to attend.
  • E-tickets will be issued as standard. These do not have to be printed but can be shown on your smartphone or similar device for us to scan on entry. In order to reduce queueing and minimise contact, tickets will not be available for collection from the Box Office.
  • We will carry out enhanced cleaning of all public areas, both prior to and during performances.
  • Hand sanitising stations are positioned throughout the building.
  • Bars, Cafes and restaurants will be open, but transactions will be cashless and paperless, with perspex screens fitted at all sale points. Please check the website before your visit for the most up to date information.
  • Our auditoriums, foyer and restaurant spaces run at 100% fresh air ventilation. Due to current circumstances relating to Covid-19, our systems are set to run full (100%) fresh air only, during rehearsals and public events for a minimum of 1.5 hours before and 1.5 hours after occupation. Our supply air is drawn in via the intake ducts on the roof, passed through a two-stage filtration system removing particulates down to between 0.3µm-1.0µm (Micro millimetres). The extract system draws air upwards and out of the auditorium through ducts to the atmosphere.

Book with confidence

Please be reassured that should you book for a performance which has to be cancelled, you will be offered the option of a refund, credit or a transfer to another performance.

For maximized flexibility, if you cannot attend, you can exchange your ticket for FREE up to at least 24 hours prior to the event (subject to availability).

For productions in the Festival and Minerva Theatres we offer a refund protection service, available when you book your tickets, from Booking Protect so you can apply for a refund should you, or anyone in your party, be unable to attend the show due to adverse weather, injury, illness, burglary or fire at your residence, breakdown or relocation for work. Click here to read Booking Protect Terms and Conditions.

Please refer to our full terms and conditions of sale. The specific points above supercede those within the wider terms and conditions.

We hope you have an enjoyable visit but if you do have any concerns, members of staff will be on hand to help you.

Please do not attend the theatre if you believe you may be infected with COVID-19. If you are unsure whether to self-isolate, please check the current government guidelines.

Sponsored by

Details.

Running Time
approx 1 hour and 30 minutes with no interval