My first impression of Prophetess was one of pure delight, laughing with an enthusiastic Tarragon Theatre audience at the delightful clarity of playwright Ho Ka Kei (Jeff Ho) and the direction of Mike Payette.

Watching Margaret, a professor obsessed with etymology (the study of words), felt tremendously reassuring at a time when literacy & books seem to be under siege by the forces of change, modernity & AI. Margaret takes us back to a realm where words matter. This is but one way among several in which she can be understood as a Prophetess.

As an illustration we saw a professor lecturing about the history of profanity and the F word.

The dialogue sparkles, the actors articulate positions & enact political stances. In the first half of the play I was swallowed up by the intrigues, by political conflicts between the larger than life characters, having heard before that the playwright is thought to be gifted. And now I see why. He gave each actor a lot to play with and my goodness they were playing. Prophetess is a virtuoso vehicle.

Margaret (Karen Robinson) is a star turn, a generous gift from Ho Ka Kei (Jeff Ho), indeed every actor in this show can thank him for the meaty parts he’s created for them. A good professor especially a tenured one must be able to educate and stimulate their audience in a classroom. Lectures are theatrical, and can be fun. Margaret has a personality every bit as big as her classroom persona, a bit of a diva because she is accustomed to having people listen to her every word, and Karen takes the stage every moment.

Ann (Natasha Mumba) is a young colleague of Margaret, a recent arrival whose first encounter with Margaret will be important to the unfolding of the plot. The arc of her story might be as expected, the young one who goes from listening open-mouthed out of respectful admiration to speaking up, taking charge and acquiring more agency.

Henry & Dicky are two vastly different roles both taken by Rick Roberts. In each guise he is defined by the women around him. We see sweet domesticated Henry at home with Margaret, almost too good to be true.

Dicky is perhaps as tricky as his name might suggest. Where Henry embodies an ideal partner, Dicky is another romantic variant, part of the political machinations driven by Elizabeth (Christine Horne), who knows how to smile and much more.

At home afterwards I was delighted to stumble upon the audience resource guide, fascinated by depths I had never suspected. Watching the play I had been dimly aware of possible subtexts. Speaking as one of the older persons watching last night, some of my laughter had me feeling out of step with a younger audience, that I may have been a bit triggered at times by plot elements that felt rather close to home.

I went to bed wondering if I had even understood what I’d seen.

I woke up confident that the play works whether one apprehends all the subtle allusions or not. I remembered something a professor said long ago when he spoke of nuances that went over our heads in watching a particular opera. He reassured me that while the musicologists who wanted to go deeper could enjoy the treasures they’d uncover in their digging, that this wasn’t essential to our enjoyment or understanding of the work, otherwise there would only be a tiny audience. The average person delights in the piece without excavating. I don’t think I appreciated those implications until now, recalling a play I enjoyed even as I’m sure I only understood it partially.

The set design by Jawon Kang & projections from Laura Warren underline the different moods of the locations where the story is unfolding, in Margaret’s lectures or in her home: making it easier for the text and the performances to work their magic on us. I was sucked in completely, the 90 minutes of the show flew by.

At its core Prophetess is a very simple story. As one of the older audience members my perspective could be different, as we get glimpses of mourning & madness that ring true for me as someone who has had more than his share of both in my immediate circle. Coming from such a young playwright as Ho Ka Kei (Jeff Ho) I am very much in awe of his insightful story-telling and his ear for dialogue. I’m looking forward to more great things from him in the future.

Prophetess runs at Tarragon Theatre until at least October 29th. I recommend you see it.