Pamela Rabe, known for her towering presence on stage and screen, is currently rehearsing for the role of Sister Aloysius Beauvier in John Patrick Shanley's 2004 play Doubt: A Parable at Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney. The play, set in a Catholic school in the Bronx in 1964, explores themes of certainty and suspicion when Father Brendan Flynn is accused of abusing an altar boy.
From Canada to Australia
Born in Canada, Rabe moved to Australia in 1983 and has since become a revered figure in Australian theatre. She recalls her early days in Sydney in the late 1980s and early 1990s, seeking to distinguish herself from the Melbourne acting scene. Critics have described her as an "actress with a capital A," capable of making strong individuals swallow hard and lesser mortals involuntarily bow.
Rabe's career includes roles as a sinister jail "screw" in the television series Wentworth and a savage matriarch in August: Osage County. She leans into her imposing physicality, yet in person, she exudes a charismatic presence combined with well-read, deadpan humour.
The Challenge of Doubt
Playing Sister Aloysius, Rabe embodies a moral guardian who can "smoke out incipient danger." She sees parallels in today's social media era, where disagreements often turn people into enemies. "The notion of 'you're either with me or against me' has very much permeated our modern social culture," she says. "We're all hardwired to want to know what's right and what's wrong. Doubt is an argument for sitting in uncertainty, and that's the most alive you can be."
Rabe suggests that the craving for certainty predates social media, recalling how Americans responded to an earthquake on television decades ago with prepared sound bites. "America has been particularly groomed to produce this certainty, which has become more a global standard of the way we should present ourselves to the world."
Faith and Family
Rabe's mother, Reta, was raised in a Presbyterian tradition in the Canadian prairies. Faith was important to her, but she became disillusioned when a new church seemed more interested in finances than spirituality. Rabe herself considered the religious life after seeing Audrey Hepburn in The Nun's Story at age 12, but realised it was just the costumes that attracted her.
Now, Rabe grapples with questions of inherent good and evil. "I constantly grapple with the question of, are we inherently good or are we inherently evil? Do we need to admit to original sin, and constantly be atoning for it?" She believes there is great beauty in all humans and seeks to explore that in her work.
Decompressing from Intense Roles
To unwind from challenging roles, Rabe turns to shopping malls, not nature. "I'm not proud of this, and my husband, he's quite critical of it, but I find wandering up and down the aisles of supermarkets or Officeworks very calming," she says. "It's not necessarily buying things." She adds, "I say, 'Listen, we need some laundry soap, and I think I have to go out and do a little shopping.'"
Rabe lives with her husband, theatre director Roger Hodgman, on a semi-rural property outside Hobart. She recently starred in Eamon Flack's stage adaptation of Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, delivering 85% of the dialogue as a traumatised schoolteacher. She felt proud of her brain for handling such a demanding role at age 67.
The Importance of Laughter
Rabe values laughter, whether with her late friend and mentor Ruth Cracknell or her mother's family. They often laughed at her father, William, a tall man of Ukrainian/Galician heritage who was "very taciturn – a real softy, but apparently quite severe." Her mother and her family were always laughing to the point of tears.
As the sun sets over Sydney Harbour, Rabe reflects on the city's creative stimulus. Sydney, she says, is often noisy and beautiful; Melbourne more austere, and these environments distinctly impact the stage stories they produce.
Doubt: A Parable runs at the Rosyln Packer Theatre from 30 June to 2 August.
