''Prima Facie'' is a one-woman play by

Suzie Miller Suzie Miller is an Australian/British playwright, librettist and screenwriter. In April 2022, Miller made her West End debut with ''Prima Facie'' starring Jodie Comer. Overview Miller is a contemporary international playwright, librettist a ...

. The plot follows Tessa, a

criminal defense In the field of criminal law, there are a variety of conditions that will tend to negate elements of a crime (particularly the ''intent'' element), known as defenses. The label may be apt in jurisdictions where the ''accused'' may be assigned some ...

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

whose view of the legal system changes after she is sexually assaulted.

Productions

Australia

''Prima Facie'' premiered in 2019, at the Stables Theatre in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Australia. The production, directed by

Lee Lewis Lee Lewis is an Australian theatre director. Early life and education Lewis trained as an actor at Columbia University in New York. Returning to Australia, she completed a Masters of Directing at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) ...

and starring Sheridan Harbridge, ran from 17 May to 22 June. It won the 2020 AWGIE Award for Drama and the 2020

Major AWGIE Award The Major AWGIE Award is awarded by the Australian Writers Guild for the outstanding script of the year at the annual AWGIE Awards The AWGIE Awards is an annual awards ceremony conducted by the Australian Writers' Guild, for excellence in screen ...

from the

Australian Writers' Guild The Australian Writers' Guild (AWG) is the professional association for Australian performance writers for film, television, radio, theatre, video and new media. The AWG was established in 1962. The AWG is a member of the Australian Council of ...

. This production was reprised in 2021, presented by

Griffin Theatre Company Griffin Theatre Company is an Australian theatre specialising in new works, based in Sydney. Founded in 1979, it is the resident theatre company at the SBW Stables Theatre in Kings Cross. the artistic director is Declan Green. Artistic direct ...

and the

Seymour Centre The Seymour Centre is a multi-purpose performing arts centre within the University of Sydney in the Australian city of Sydney. It is located on the corner of City Rd and Cleveland St in Chippendale, just south-west of the city centre. The b ...

West End

The play made its West End premiere in 2022, at the

Harold Pinter Theatre The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011,

, with

Jodie Comer Jodie Marie Comer ( ; born 11 March 1993) is an English actress who rose to global prominence for her role as Oksana Astankova / Villanelle in the BBC America spy thriller '' Killing Eve'' (2018–2022). She has received various accolades in ...

starring as Tessa. It opened on 15 April and closed on 18 June. English singer-songwriter

Self Esteem Self-esteem is confidence in one's own worth or abilities. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs about oneself (for example, "I am loved", "I am worthy") as well as emotional states, such as triumph, despair, pride, and shame. Smith and Mackie (2007) d ...

composed the soundtrack for the West End production, which she digitally released on 14 June 2022. In a review of the production, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' said of the play's messages, "there is power in hearing them spoken on a West End stage, and Comer manages to infuse breath-taking emotional drama in every last word." The West End production partnered with the

Schools Consent Project The Schools Consent Project is a charity organisation based in the UK which delivers sexual education workshops focusing on the topic of consent. It was founded in 2014, delivering its first workshop in March 2015. Pupils aged 11–18 are taken ...

, a charity that visits schools to teach about

sexual consent Sexual consent is consent to engage in sexual activity. In many jurisdictions, sexual activity without consent is considered rape or other sexual assault. Academic discussion of consent In the late 1980s, academic Lois Pineau argued that societ ...

. As part of this partnership, ''Prima Facie'' gave free tickets to school groups and raised money for the charity. Starting 21 July 2022, a filmed performance of the play at the Harold Pinter Theatre was shown at cinemas around the world by

NT Live National Theatre Live is an initiative operated by the Royal National Theatre in London, which broadcasts live via satellite, performances of their productions (and from other theatres) to cinemas and arts centres around the world. About I gre ...

Planned Broadway production

The West End production is scheduled to play a limited engagement on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in spring 2023. The show is expected to begin previews on April 11, 2023 at the

Golden Theatre The John Golden Theatre, formerly the Theatre Masque and Masque Theater, is a Broadway theater at 252 West 45th Street (George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1927, the Golden Theatre was d ...

, with Opening Night set for April 23, 2023. It is scheduled to run for 10 weeks, concluding on June 18, 2023

Soundtrack

's involvement was first announced 7 February 2022. The soundtrack album was released digitally on 14 June, with a red vinyl released on 2 December. Self Esteem described her connection with the material by saying the play "deals with similar issues" as her previous album '' Prioritise Pleasure'', and that the play is, "at heart ... an examination of what it can be like to be a woman today: the insecurities she's faced, heartbreak, sexism, misogyny, being told to look and behave a certain way." She also noted hope that her involvement would invite people to the show who otherwise feel alienated from theatre. The ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

''s Nick Curtis called the soundtrack "evocative" and "heartbeat-led", while ''

''s Arifa Akbar wrote that it "conjure the ambient

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

sounds of an

Ibiza Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its l ...

beach bar."

Track listing

Personnel

* Rebecca Lucy Taylor – songwriter, vocals (1-6, 8-18), producer, programmer *

Taylor Skye Jockstrap are an English musical duo consisting of Georgia Ellery and Taylor Skye, who met at London's Guildhall School of Music & Drama in 2016. The duo's music combines Ellery's half-whispered vocals and string arrangements with Skye's electr ...

– producer, piano (2, 11, 17, 18), synthesiser (5, 18), songwriter (5), vocals (7) * Cicely Balston – mastering * Eduardo de la Paz – mixing * Matthew Skillington – vocals (7) * Sophie Galpin – guitar (7)

References

{{reflist 2019 plays Plays for one performer West End plays Australian plays