Death at the Vatican
5 April 2012
The Last Confession
First performance 28 June, Theatre Royal Haymarket, £15-£90 (0870 4000 626, www.trh.co.uk)
First performance 28 June, Theatre Royal Haymarket, £15-£90 (0870 4000 626, www.trh.co.uk)
Starring David Suchet, this play examines the mysterious death of the Smiling Pope', who died in 1978 just 33 days into his Pontificate.
Pope John Paul I's liberal attitude was worrying reactionaries within the Catholic Church and he had apparently told three of his most influential but hostile Cardinals they would be replaced the night before he died.
Details surrounding the cause of death were unclear, encouraging many to cry conspiracy.
The play charts the political manoeuvring, crises of faith and high drama within the Vatican at the time.
