FRINGE REVIEW: "The Chair of Saint Peter (& Other Games)" is a hell of a good time
Did you pay attention when the Catholic Church elected a new pope last year? The pageantry of it all. The secret votes behind closed chambers. The plume of smoke rising up the Vatican chimney to signal a decision has finally been made. Or maybe, like me, you saw the Oscar-nominated political thriller Conclave, which starred Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci as cardinals, peeling back those sacred walls to give us surprisingly juicy social commentary peppered with scandals, vicious infighting, and yes, an iconic vape hit.
This Fringe, as part of The Blue Room Theatre’s Summer Nights 2026 season, The Chair of Saint Peter (and Other Games) has packaged the conclave experience and mainlines it into the intimate main stage of the theatre in the heart of Boorloo Perth.
The story of The Chair of Saint Peter begins when a Perth-based investigative journalist lands the scoop of a lifetime: an invitation inside the Vatican to interview members of the inner circle in the wake of a conclave election, following the mysterious disappearance of the previous Pope.
Naturally, with a premise like that, there is no other way for the play to open but with a splashy dance number. Five figures in iconic cardinal red robes spill onto the stage, moving in unison to a playful soundtrack, performing choreography so delightfully silly that you cannot help but grin. As its dazzling opening sequence suggests, The Chair of Saint Peter reimagines the papacy with a twinkle in its eye and a generous dose of absurd humour.
Framed as a detective-meets-deposition style narrative, this ambitious play takes us into “the room where it happens” and reframes the papal election as a slapstick satire on the performative nature of institutional power. For the most part, it sticks the landing, largely thanks to the cast’s utter commitment to the bit, led by the undeniably magnetic Lachlan Ives as Pope Pucelli. Ives plays Pucelli as obviously sinister yet weirdly charming, a master manipulator who has somehow pulled the right strings to rise to the top. Through him, we watch as one of the most sacred religious roles in the world is decided not through careful deliberation, but a series of unrelated childhood party games. Uno. Musical chairs. Twister. This is their mechanism of power, and the absurdity is the point.
A key highlight is the dynamic between Ives’ Pucelli and his right-hand man, Cardinal Cundo, played by Ben Canute (who is also one of the writers). Canute turns in a hilariously physical performance as a hulking, simple-minded devotee, an Igor to Pucelli’s Frankenstein. Every time the pair share the stage, their master-minion chemistry is comedic gold, and the audience cannot help but crave more of it.
The rest of the cast form a kind of chaotic Greek chorus: Georgia Langenberg as Cardinal Benedict Fusilli, Shelby Rae Foster (also a co-writer) as Cardinal Jean Du Bibelle, and Asha Pearl as Cardinal Julian all work well together as an ensemble, a trio of bumbling cardinals scrambling to keep up with Pucelli’s escalating schemes. Meanwhile, Olivia Taliangis helps ground the more outlandish turns as the “straight man” of the piece as reporter Holly Waters.
Under the direction of Sanna Ansaldo, the Saga Si team makes impressive use of limited resources. One of my favourite moments is a cinematic sequence that cuts between Holly’s interview with Pope Pucelli and rapid flashbacks of the cardinals’ mid-game of Twister. Through a clever interplay of choreography, lighting, and sound design, something inherently ridiculous becomes unexpectedly impactful, turning what could have been a throwaway gag into a moment of dramatic weight. This is a production that understands how to stretch theatrical language beyond its scale.
However, as a new work debuting at the Summer Nights program, The Chair of Saint Peter is not without its growing pains. The main source of friction in the play stems from its attempt to balance two tonal ambitions. On one hand, there is the zany, satirical comedy. On the other, a conspiracy thriller storyline that aims for darker stakes.
Because the comedy hits so consistently, the more serious dramatic elements feel comparatively thinner, and at times pull focus away from the show’s most engaging mode. You can see the vision, but as the story races toward its conclusion, which introduces some horror understones, the tonal divide becomes more pronounced. Instead of deepening the piece, it risks softening the impact of its strongest asset, its comedy, which might have landed harder had the show leaned more decisively in that direction, or developed the plot further.
Despite some of its rough edges, The Chair of Saint Peter (& Other Games) is, pardon the blasphemy, a hell of a good time. It is a production driven by a clear desire to have fun with its audience. If you pray at the altar of gleeful theatrical chaos, you will leave this play a believer.
4 / 5 stars
