This extremely funny comedy based on the author's school days in a London convent does not necessarily finish the title phrase with "always a Catholic." Rather, this play, a celebrated prize-winner and a critical success, is about the resilience of children to survive in spite of, not because of, their upbringing and indoctrination.
All the girls in Class 5A are called Mary (apart from one Maria). One, an innocent who has not yet learned the gentle art of deception, finds herself the perpetual scapegoat. The author concentrates principally on the amusing ways the girls deal with the dogma constantly pumped into them. Hilarious moments have a more serious underlying theme: how true does much of this remain today?
Once a Catholic premiered on Broadway at the Helen Hayes Theatre in October 1979 under the direction of Mike Ockrent.