Tehran – The adaptation of American playwright and screenwriter John Patrick Shanley’s “Doubt: A Palm” is currently on stage at Samandarian Hall in Iranshaal, Tehran.
Kourosh Soleimani is the director and producer of the play, translated into Persian by Mohammad Mon’em.
Royal Afshar, Behnam Tashakor, Vida Javan and Sanaz Najafi are the main members of the play’s cast and will remain on stage until May 9th.
“Suspicious: A Paraable,” the first off-Broadway performance at the Manhattan Theatre Club in 2004, was successfully on the Broadway stage at the Walter Carr Theatre in March 2005, and was eventually closed in 2006 after 525 performances and 25 previews.
The play won critical acclaim, winning the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 2005 and earning the Tony Award Best Play. In 2008, Meryl Streep fitted into a feature film titled “Suspicious,” starring sisters Aloysius and Philip Seymour Hoffman as Father Flynn, and received several Academy Award nominations.
Set in the fictional St. Nicholas Church School in the Bronx in the fall of 1964, the play will preach on the subject of uncertainty with Father Flynn, a progressive and popular parish priest. He says that “doubt can become a strong and lasting bond as certainty,” setting the stage for the moral complexity that follows.
The play introduces Sister Aloysius, the school’s strict principal, and is dedicated to her commanding charity sisters, believing in the constant scrutiny of students and staff. In meeting the James sisters, a young and impressive nun, Aloysius reveals her deep distrust for almost everyone around her, in stark contrast to Flynn’s comprehensive and contemporary approach.
Tensions escalate when Aloysius learns from the James sisters that Father Flynn had a personal meeting with Donald Muller, the school’s first African-American student. Suspicion of potential misconduct, Aloysius confronts Flynn about her concerns under the pretense of discussing the Christmas pageant.
Flynn vehemently denys the misconduct, claiming that he is only chastising Donald by drinking altar wine. Sisters James find comfort in Flynn’s account, opposed to the growing suspicions of Aloysius.
Arrosius decides to reveal the truth, and meets Donald’s mother, Mrs. Muller, and incredibly support Flynn, dismissing Aloysius’ accusations. In their conversation, Mrs. Muller suggests that Donald may have experienced abuse at home, adding another layer of complexity to the story.
As the conflict deepens, Flynn threatens with possible consequences if Aloysius does not retract her claims.
Aloysius reveals her deceptive tactics. She created a call to Flynn’s previous parish, claiming she had found a history of cheating.
Despite this deception, her actions leave her lingering doubts in the same way that instill uncertainty in the audience.
Ultimately, the play ends without a definitive resolution of Flynn’s guilt and innocence, forcing the audience to tackle the subject of doubt and its impact on their faith, authority and community.
sab/