I still haven’t had the opportunity to watch Stanley Tucci get his gossip on in Conclave yet, so I have absolutely no idea of the process involved in selecting a new pope.
What I do know is that it’s a routine full of enough drama to rival any Housewives franchise, mixed in with some hazing-like rituals and traditions.
I say this to preface that, while watching The Chair of Saint Peter (and other games), it could, for all I know, be a highly accurate representation of the activities involved in selecting a new pope. From the brains of Ben Canute and Shelby Rae Foster, this show is camp to the max and honestly might have converted me to Catholicism if a smidgen of what I saw on stage is true.
I knew this show was going to be a success when it opened with a burlesque-like opening number featuring feathers and choreography with lifts. Director Sanna Ansaldo did not miss her opportunity to set the tongue-in-cheek tone of the piece within the first few minutes. In an interview montage with a filmic quality, we quickly learn that journalist Holly Waters (Olivia Taliagnis) has been invited to Vatican City to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a cardinal who vanished during the last Conclave. She goes on to meet the four remaining and distinctly unique Cardinals, along with the new Pope, Pope Pucelli, to speak with and study them in the hopes of getting to the bottom of the suspicious happenings in their chamber.
The cast are absolutely fantastic in their respective roles and have been given a lot to sink their teeth into with Ben and Shelby’s writing. As Pope Pucelli, Lachlan Ives is flamboyant and revels in the delicious evilness and sheer ridiculousness of his character. A simple look, or more specifically the side-swept bang from Ben Canute in his roles, brought life to his characters and joy to the audience. Asha Pearl’s ocker Aussie accent and very un-Catholic-like demeanour as Cardinal Julian gave us a taste of home in Rome. Meanwhile, performances from Georgia Langenberg as Cardinal Benedict Fusilli and Shelby Rae Foster as Cardinal Jean Du Bibelle brought tension and repressed, or not so repressed, sexualities to the forefront.
All of the Cardinals and the Pope are super shady about the happenings in the chamber and attempt to throw Holly off the scent of what happened to the missing cardinal. They let her in on some of their secret rituals, including musical chairs and Twister, games which I would love to think are part of the proper process. Eventually the strange and sordid truth is revealed in a manner that even Poirot wouldn’t be able to predict. I can only imagine this show was a delight for Sanna to direct, as each and every scene brings its own levels of absurdity, which the audience audibly adored.
Speaking of absurdity, this is one of those shows where just when you think it can’t get more strange, it does. While some of it did go over my head, I enjoyed leaning into it and embracing the silly.
The design of the show has a luscious quality, with the sound and visuals working cohesively while keeping the show’s need for efficiency in mind, particularly with multiple characters and quick costume changes required. Kudos must be given to this multi-talented team, with many of them taking on extra roles as well as performing. Their collective efforts made for an extremely entertaining night of theatre, delivering a high-quality production that makes me excited for their future works.