7 February – 8 March
A new staging of John Patrick Shanley’s award-winning drama, DOUBT a parable, opens at Bath’s Ustinov Studio with the cast led by Maxine Peake and Ben Daniels.
At a Catholic school in the Bronx in 1964, Sister Aloysius, the strong-minded principal has her suspicions that one of her teaching fathers is abusing a vulnerable pupil. Without proof, she is forced to take matters into her own hands. As the elements of her investigation come invigoratingly together like clockwork, the gripping story poses fascinatingly nuanced questions of moral certainty.
DOUBT a parable transferred to Broadway in 2005, winning the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play, after premiering off-Broadway a year earlier. It has achieved huge international acclaim since and was adapted into the film Doubt in 2008 starring Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Maxine Peake plays Sister Aloysius Beauvier. Her starring roles in some of the most watched television series of the last twenty years include Martha Costello QC in Silk, Twinkle in Victoria Wood’s Dinnerladies, Veronica in Shameless, Grace Middleton in The Village, Myra Hindley in See No Evil, Sara Rowbotham in Three Girls and Miss Wade in Little Dorrit. Most recently on screen she played Dolours Price in Say Nothing, the title role in Anne, Sam Thompson in Rules of the Game, and guest roles in Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads, Mandy and Inside No. 9. Her film credits include Mike Leigh’s Peterloo, Woken, Funny Cow, The Theory of Everything, and, the soon to be seen, Words of War. On stage, Maxine has played the title role in Hamlet, Winnie in Happy Days, Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire and Hester Collyer in The Deep Blue Sea. Her theatre company MAAT (Music, Art, Activism and Theatre), co-founded with Sarah Frankcom and Imogen Knight, has produced five plays which Maxine starred in: The Skriker, They, The Nico Project, The Masque of Anarchy and Robin/Red/Breast.
Ben Daniels plays Father Brendan Flynn. His many television roles include Santiago in Interview with the Vampire; Círdan in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power; Bel Riose in Foundation; Father Marcus Keane in The Exorcist; Lord Snowdon in The Crown; Adam Galloway in House of Cards; Finn Bevan in Cutting It and Senior Crown Prosecutor James Steel in Law & Order. His film credits include Benediction, Captive State, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, The Exception, Fanny & Elvis and The Lost Language of Cranes. Ben has performed at the National Theatre in productions including The Normal Heart, winning Best Actor at the Critics Circle Awards, and All My Sons, winning Best Supporting Actor at the Olivier Awards. On Broadway, he received Best Actor nominations at the Tony and Drama Desk Awards for his role in Les Liaisons Dangereuses. He also received a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Olivier Awards for Never The Sinner in the West End, a production which toured to the Theatre Royal Bath in 1990.
Rachel John, who plays the role of Mrs Muller, has performed in the West End productions of Songs For A New World, Girl From The North Country, Hamilton, The Bodyguard, Memphis, Rent and We Will Rock You. She was recently seen on screen in The Marvels and, as a vocalist, mesmerised audiences performing as the opening act for Dionne Warwick on her UK tour and in the West End.
Holly Godliman, who plays the role of Sister James, made her feature film debut in Keira Knightley’s The Woman in Cabin 10. Making her professional stage debut in this production, she has previously appeared in Queen Margaret, Top Girls and Macbeth for the Richard Burton Company at Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.
Director Lindsay Posner returns to the Ustinov Studio following recent productions of The Deep Blue Sea, which transfers to the West End in 2025 after opening in Bath last year; A View from The Bridge, which transferred to the West End in 2024 after opening in Bath, and The Lover / The Collection, which also enjoyed a sold-out run at the Ustinov Studio. One of the UK’s most accomplished directors, he has received plaudits for numerous productions in the West End, at the Royal Court, National Theatre, RSC and London’s Old Vic. His many credits at the Theatre Royal Bath also include Noises Off in the Main House, and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Farewell Mister Haffmann at the Ustinov Studio.
The creative team for DOUBT a parable also features Peter McKintosh (Set & Costume Designer), Paul Pyant (Lighting Designer), Elizabeth Purnell (Composer and Sound Designer) and Ginny Schiller CDG (Casting Director).
DOUBT a parable appears at the Ustinov Studio at the Theatre Royal Bath from Friday 7th February to Saturday 8th March. To book tickets contact the Theatre Royal Bath Box Office on 01225 448844 or book online at theatreroyal.org.uk
This listing appears on our front page until 11:55pm on Saturday March 8th, 2025
