Jani Lauzon’s one woman show Prophecy Fog, currently playing at Coal Mine Theatre, is essentially a remount of her 2019 show at The Theatre Centre.  I still feel pretty much the same about as I did then; i.e. it’s an excellent and very personal show that will hold different meanings for different people.  I was curious to see how my perception might have changed after four years in which ever weirder conspiracy theories have become mainstream so that stories of space aliens seem the least of it.  Wes Anderson seems to have felt much the same in his latest film.

Truth to tell my reaction was pretty much as before.  I admire Jani’s ability to weave a story that draws on both the sacred and the (very) profane and relates very personal experiences to things on a cosmic scale.  She can imbue small gestures with layers of meaning.  It’s a show (show? ritual? ceremony?) that gets to you.  I still have my souvenir stone from last time!

The setting at Coal Mine is as intimate as The Theatre Centre.  I guess one could pack maybe 60 people into the ceremony circle.  The projections and soundscape are as evocative as before.  One has a choice of sitting on low benches very close to Jani or on chairs behind them.  The lattewr seemed more popular but we opted (as we do) to be up close and I would really recommend that.  Prophecy Fog does not benefit from physical or emotional distancing.

I’m glad I went again and I’d recommend it highly whether or not you have seen it before.  Prophecy Fog continues at Coal Mine Theatre until December 10th.

Photo credits: Dahlia Katz