Prophetess: A Thought-Provoking, Yet Flawed Drama Prophetess, a new play at the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto, is a thought-provoking exploration of academia, grief, and the complexities of genius. While Karen Robinson shines as the grief-stricken Professor Margaret Anjou, the production falters in its pacing and character development. With its unique blend of historical intrigue and visceral imagery, Prophetess is a promising work that falls short of its full potential. Academia brings to mind images of wood-panelled offices and sun-soaked libraries; deep in the throes of study, knowledge and magic can begin to feel one and the same. Professor obsessed with origins of swear wordsIn the play, Professor Margaret Anjou, played by Karen Robinson, knows intimately the alchemy of learning. She's obsessed with words - the origins of popular swear words are among her specialties. Historically, whenever her mind has started to unravel, words have always been there to stitch it back together. But Margaret might have gone too far this time.On the first day of school, the professor slaps new hire Anne across the face. There are no words to excuse the gesture - none that will satisfy pinched HR representative Elizabeth. For a precipitous moment, it looks as if Margaret's tenure might be at risk.Playwright Ho Ka Kei (Jeff Ho), who also serves as Tarragon's associate artistic director, offers a compelling hook in its grief-stricken professor, whose increasingly erratic behaviour can no longer gel with the stringent expectations of higher learning. There's a palpable question that floats just above the surface of a play imbued with historical intrigue: What must academia be willing to sacrifice in order to accommodate the complexities of genius?Robinson delivers sharp performance despite script flawsRobinson's take on Margaret is laser-focused and sharp, with intricately crafted layers that help to blur the play's most obvious plot twists. Ho's script, too, is tantalizing in its imagery, if somewhat heavy-handed in its character switcheroos. Visceral references to spiders, beef and kouign-amann pastries help to construct a thoughtful portrait of Prophetess's deeply flawed heroine. But the production never quite clicks into place.Much of Ho's script is played for laughs: Margaret's is an overwhelmingly unfunny story of trauma and loss, but in director Mike Payette's care, it's inexplicably paced like a sitcom. Karen Robinson offers a rich performance that offsets most of those quibbles. As embodied by Robinson, Margaret's is an inner rather than outer journey, shared with us through subtle facial expressions and barely perceptible changes to the quality of her voice.