The Last Confession

Published Wednesday 9 May 2007 at 13:15 by Michael Sell

The mystery of the death of Pope John Paul I after a reign of only 33 days, has been the subject of speculation for many years. CFT has premiered this new play on the subject by Roger Crane, an American lawyer, which appears to present a balanced, if hypothetical, view of the events which raise many questions but not enough answers.

The theme of the play is political power, the power of the Pope against the power of the Curia, conservatism versus liberalism. When Cardinal Luciani was elected Pope John Paul I as a result of the machinations of Cardinal Benelli, the church set an honest, holy, totally incorruptible Pope on a collision close with the Curia and the Vatican Bank. Arguments about the role and responsibility of the Church and the non-politicisation of the Church’s role abound. For Cardinal Benelli who pushed Luciani into becoming the Pope and then left him to beg for help by taking over the Curia, but for whom the last telephone call was too late, guilt and a lack of faith are the key difficulties.

Benelli is played by David Suchet with great insight, even into unbelief, and his confession of his role in the death of the Pope is totally credible. The reactionary cardinals led by Villot and Felici, are beautifully characterised by Bernard Lloyd and Charles Key, while Richard O’Callaghan epitomises a friendly, human priest, albeit one elevated to the Papacy. His predecessor Paul VI was a splendid character study by Clifford Rose.

The cast were strong throughout and direction was slick and purposeful by David Jones, with intriguing design by William Dudley.

An evening of thought-provoking intense theatre.