The Prophet review, Gate

Talk like an Egyptian

The Prophet opens with engineer, Layla, wondering if shaving off her pubic hair might reactivate her husband, Hisham's libido. While generally favouring nationalisation, she decides some things must be kept private. If only she knew the half of it... Hassan Abdulrazzak's dazzling new play is about secrets and lies in societies where the truth can mean prison or death. Does anyone ever tell the full story?

Hisham, is an Egyptian social commentator; a journalistic irritant writing a provocative work of fiction about a new prophet. As the revolution begins yards away in Tahrir Square, the man of words, beset by writer's block, refuses to join in. Packing her protest gear for later in the day, frustrated Layla stomps off to the office, convinced her husband's mind is on a literary Mata Hari - a slinky British book editor who wants to make his manuscript a global hit. Furious that the two will be meeting that afternoon, Layla is unprepared when her boss at Vodafone first jumps her and then coaxes her into putting social responsibility ahead of social conscience and switching off the capital's mobile phone network.

It is a busy plot but once it's set up we're sucked into the dark heart of a repressive regime and there are many surprises. This isn't so much a play about the Arab Spring, as of Arabs sprung from the binds of cultural convention to start examining each other and themselves. Where are the bodies buried?

In conclusion: Christopher Haydon directs a first rate cast of four - Nitzan Sharron, Melanie Jessop, Sasha Behar and Silas Carson - through nano-second changes of costume and character, with precision. The set is beautiful, and beautifully lit.

References:
The Gate Theatre, tickets
Review by Aleks Sierz for The Arts Desk