Prodigals by Sean Minogue
Reviewed by Anne Smith-Nochasak
Prodigals by Sean Minogue is a one act play of seven scenes set in a small bar in Sault Ste. Marie. In it, we follow the lives and dreams of a group of local patrons who meet and drink and discuss the ongoing trial of Benny, a schoolmate who is on trial for murder. Most have never left their hometown and reveal a bitter loyalty to the place, coupled with a certain jealousy of Wesley, the boy who left town and “did well.” Those from small towns will recognize that pattern.
Benny’s character is revealed through the conversations of his peers, but he does not appear in the play. This is effective, for although we form a picture of him from their different points of view, his character does not dominate the action, as it surely would if he were present. The action centres instead on his friends, on their relationships, hopes, and disappointments. On the ways their lives are being fulfilled and the ways they justify the fulfillment they have.
Benny emerges as the one who never quite fit in with his hometown, the one who was a little awkward, who was not the best student, who might have struggled with reading. The one who was physically strong and had a temper but was loyal to family. The type who stood up for his kid sister but used his fists, not his words. He is now on trial for beating a man to death, in a matter concerning his younger sister, Nina. She has sent for Wesley, who has been studying law in Toronto, to testify as a character witness.
All the stereotypes of a small town are there: the joker, the party girl who has remade her life, the little sister protected by a big brother, the young man who had big dreams but now feels trapped in a parent-partner role, the one who was always considered a nerd, and of course the one who left town and “made good” in the big city but now no longer fits in. And this last one will reveal another stereotype: the one who really did not do well but maintains that fiction while hiding his failures. None of these characters, in the end, truly fits their stereotype, and we discover instead the twists and surprises of real life. The culminating scene between Wesley and Jen is perhaps not the one we would like to see, for we have become fond of Michael, but life teaches us that we are much more than the sum of our stereotypes and this event is indeed a likely one.
The long-ago affair between the bar manager Jen and Wesley begins as a subplot but evolves to take the central role. For the play is not so much about Benny’s trial as it is a story of how we relate to home—why we stay, or why we leave. It is a story about making dreams come true or finding ways to cope with the dreams that are before us. In short, it is a play in which each of us can recognize someone or something from our own lives.
That is perhaps the success of this play—it follows in the tradition of O’Neill, Miller, Albee, and others, who looked into the little day-to-day lives and revealed universal truths. We all know someone like Wesley, Jen, Eliot, Nips, Greg, or Nina. We nod and say, “Yes, they are like us” or “Yes, I know someone like that.” We know what they mean. And yet, they transcend a little bar in Sault Ste. Marie, for their dreams, loves, and failures are those of all humanity.
The character of Greg binds the play together. He is a cynic, often cruel in his declamations, who is always pointing out the failings of others while excusing his own, yet like a Shakespearian jester, he is the one who reveals the essential truth of each of his companions.
My only recommendation would be to include more stage directions in the text, as sometimes a character speaks, and we are not sure if they have left and returned to the stage, or were perhaps off to the side. I do feel, too, that more development in monologues would give a clearer image of Benny and intensify the level of emotion. A play, however, is best revealed when it is performed, so this might not be necessary at all.
Perhaps we will be disappointed by the choices the characters make, but that, to me, enhances appreciation of this play. In its brevity and manipulation of character we have a microcosm of life with its hopes, dreams, weaknesses, failings—and its truth. I would love to see it presented sometime, but meanwhile, it is a marvellous read.
About the Author
Sean Minogue is a writer based in Toronto, Canada. He wrote the plays Prodigals and Us & Everything We Own. Turnstone Press is publishing his debut novel, Terminal Solstice, in Spring 2025 through their Ravenstone imprint.
About the Reviewer
Anne M. Smith-Nochasak grew up in rural western Nova Scotia, where she currently resides and teaches part-time after many years working in northern communities. She has self-published three novels using the services of Friesen Press: A Canoer of Shorelines (2021), The Ice Widow (2022), and River Faces North (Taggak Journey, Book 1, being released in early September 2024). She is currently a member of the Writers Federation of Nova Scotia. https://www.acanoerofshorelines.com/
Book Details
Publisher : Latitude 46
Publication date : Aug. 10 2025
Language : English
Print length : 70 pages
ISBN-10 : 1988989949
ISBN-13 : 978-1988989945
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