The timing of the Edinburgh weather on the day I reviewed Prophets was perfectly timed. It’s set on a small fictional South Pacific island and exposed to the elements. As the weather setting for the play was misty and murky with tropical rain, the rain hitting the metal of the Roxy Boxy venue added authentic sound effects.
Kerris, played by Rebecca Wilkie, is a Scottish researcher who arrives on a sparsely populated island of Saint John. She initially meets Joe, played by Xander Cowan (who also takes the role of other characters throughout the play).
Her role on the island is to archaeological record the plant life and record all her findings. She has been posted there to study, but what she starts to uncover leads to questions over the religious cult that is inhabiting the island.
The play title begins to make sense as Joe begins to explain about the Prophet who is leading this theological cult who are preparing themselves for the end of their days! This wouldn’t be the first time something like this happened and wiped out hundreds of people.
The play at times feels rushed, and Kerris’s character hints at the trauma she had been subjected to in Scotland, and some of the conversations that took place with her boyfriend back home felt awkward and unnatural.
I really liked the ideas used in the play and would like to see more backstory of each of the characters. Writer Jack MacGregor has some intriguing ideas mapped out in the storyline, which have potential to be expanded.
The atmospheric dark staging and usage of the torches add to the mysterious cult and the islands archaeological history. There’s plenty of scope with this play, and I could see it working at a two – or three part radio and television drama. There’s always an audience for this genre of story. I doubt this will be the last time this play is staged.
For more information about Prophets and other productions across Edinburgh Fringe, please use the link below.
Four Stars.
Theatre, Art and Film Reviews 
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