Stan's Cafe
The Cardinals

Presented as part of the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival

Remarkable. . . [Stan's Cafe] interrogates the past to better understand the present.

—The Guardian

In this thought-provoking, witty, and hugely entertaining work, three Catholic cardinals in crimson robes are on an evangelical mission. They’re touring a puppet show to broaden knowledge of the Bible. But for this performance, the puppets have gone missing—and the cardinals are forced to take their place on the miniature stage, which they do with heartfelt sincerity. As their young female Muslim stage manager both supports the cardinals and conflicts with them, the show races through scenes from their own very particular take on the Bible and incidents from the Crusades, finally arriving in the present-day Middle East.

From the British company Stan's Cafe, the very funny Cardinals gradually reveals its ingenious ploy to experiment with narrative and examine people's belief—in religion and theater. Performed wordless on a deceptively simple set and some ingenious practical effects, The Cardinals follows the lengths four actors go to maintain illusion, until what we see unravels and deviates from what the fictional audience at a play about Bible stories sees, for a back-handed crushing revelation about real life.

While theater asks its audiences to suspend their disbelief, the cardinals ask them simply to believe. “We are not seeking to argue for or against religion,” the artists say, “but hoping to prompt people to consider their relationship to religious faith.”

Running time: 105 minutes