What with the thousands of newspaper articles exposing child abuse and its covering up in the Catholic Church worldwide, and the shadow cast by films such as Deliver Us from Evil, Spotlight and By the Grace of God, it’s hard to imagine there’s much room for doubt in our minds when it comes to allegations of paedophilia levelled against a member of the clergy.

No smoke without fire, right?

But John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt – revived here by Sydney Theatre Company 20 years after its Australian debut – expertly sows uncertainty where we think none exists.

Sydney Theatre Company’s Doubt: A Parable. Photo © Prudence Upton

St Nicholas Church and School, the Bronx, New York, 1964. The Catholic Church is in a period of self-examination and rapid change – or crisis, depending on perspective – prompted by the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

At first glance, Father Flynn (played by Sam Reid) seems the ideal Vatican II poster boy. Young, progressive and eloquent, he prides himself on being approachable. He’s got game on the basketball court, too. The St Nick’s boys have warmed to him, thanks in part to his post-match “bull...