Cardinal Sinne

Cardinal Sinne

Tron, Glasgow

Brian Beacom

SEXUALLY opportunistic priests, morally corrupt clergymen, fundamentalist housekeepers, stupid police inspectors and easily duped journalists - what's not to like about Raymond Burke's play Cardinal Sinne?

Here's the premise: Cardinal Sinne (Grant Smeaton), the highest ranking clergymen in all of Scotland, is set to take off to Rome to play his part in electing a new Pope. But the Cardinal is perhaps not best placed to help choose God's representative on earth. So oleaginous that his wire-rimmed glasses almost slide from his face, he's also a sex pest, with a lust for young boys.

In the opening scene we discover him doing his best to lead a young priest into temptation. A journalist (Neil Anderson) turns up and accuses him of abuse. Once a young priest who found himself defiled by the Cardinal, he threatens to tell his story. The Cardinal tries to cover his tracks by claiming he is heterosexual and enlists the help of his housekeeper (Pauline Goldsmith).

Burke's play is a farce, but more Orton than Brian Rix. The writing is clever and funny and even the continual innuendo doesn't detract from the sheer fun created on stage. Smeaton drives the show along with an immense performance that is paradoxically very subtle; he's deliciously lascivious, marvellously amoral, and he delivers his lines with all the guile of a Donald Pleasance and the humour of an Alistair Sim.

Casting a harsh light on allegations of abuse of power in the church, and underlining how institutions are institutionally programmed to protect themselves, this Glasgay commission could sometimes be more pacy, and some of Smeaton's co-stars are not quite in his league, but it's sins aren't cardinal and packed congregations are assured.