Prima Facie review: Jodie Comer is better than we’ve ever seen her in West End debut (2024)
Evening Standard
·3 min read
Killing Eve star Jodie Comer absolutely storms the West End in this one-woman show, playing a barrister specialising in sexual assault cases who is herself then raped. Her working-class character Tessa Ensler starts off as an exuberant ball of energy, swaggering and shimmying around a set lined with legal files, glorying in her ability to navigate the hierarchy and the technical nuances of law.
Not to mention its innate theatricality: a barrister friend once pointed out to me the significance of costume, staging and ritual in court, something Tessa’s character embraces. She relishes the idea of adversarial performance, of winning over the crowd. After the violation, she’s physically stiff, emotionally stripped, wounded but uncowed. Even her face looks different. Tessa’s elegantly mocking cheekbones suddenly seem stark and strained.
It’s an extraordinarily gutsy and rich performance by Comer in only her second ever stage role – the first was in Scarborough 13 years ago, when she was 16 - and it confirms her as a star. Suzie Miller’s script is a great vehicle rather than a truly great play, however - shrewd and economical in its analysis of how the system treats assault survivors, but schematic in its plotting.
It is also timely, arriving as unspeakable delays to UK rape trials and the paucity of convictions are in the headlines. And timeless, because the burden of proof has always fallen on women. Significantly, Tessa’s attacker is someone she previously had consensual sex with. After the assault, Miller has her protagonist perform all the typically documented reactions – scouring her body, deleting texts, doubting herself – that will later rebound in court.
Originally premiered in Miller’s native Australia in 2019, the play has presumably been tweaked to reflect the UK’s legal system and class structure. Comer, so good at accents in Killing Eve and her Hollywood debut Free Guy, gets to use her native Liverpudlian here, but deftly modulates it according to Tessa’s emotional state, and whether she’s with family, friends or colleagues. Her intricate performance embraces such subtlety, a physical abandon uncommon in screen actors, and piercing vulnerability.
Of course, she doesn’t do it alone. Suzie Miller lays out the issues and the challenges. Director Justin Martin, previously best-known as an assistant to bigger names, supplies pace and clearly encouraged his star to be bold, not timid. There’s an evocative, heartbeat-led soundtrack by Self Esteem. Designer Miriam Buether gives Comer suits, slacks, shirts and dresses that fit each change to Tessa’s personality, often leaving her symbolically barefoot. She also brings a rainstorm onstage and furnishes a final visual coup that I won’t spoil.
But Comer is the reason we’re here. Her commitment made the production happen and kept it alive through delays. We all wanted to know if she’s as good live on stage as she is on screen. And the answer is no: she’s better.
The production, directed by Justin Martin, is chic and accessible, with design flourishes, by now de rigueur, to underline the idea that it is a Big Event. And the reform of sexual assault jurisprudence that the play advocates could hardly be more convincingly argued or worthy of our attention.
Prima Facie is a story of two halves, narrated in a breathless, first-person present tense by Tessa Ensler, an ambitious barrister in her early 30s who has risen from a Luton council estate via Cambridge to a prestigious London chambers.
Prima Facie is a dramatic one-woman play written by Australian-British playwright Suzie Miller. The plot follows Tessa, a criminal defense barrister whose view of the legal system changes after she is sexually assaulted.
Prima Facie becomes even more declarative towards its end, as Tessa finally has her say in court; because of British law, her verbal demolition of the law is done without a jury present. The law is made to interrogate the victim, rather than the facts, she says.
The Latin expression prima facie means “at first sight”, “at first view", or "based on first impression." In both civil and criminal law, the term is used to denote that, upon initial examination, a legal claim has sufficient evidence to proceed to trial or judgment.
Miller was inspired to write “Prima Facie” by the years she spent as a lawyer taking statements from hundreds of women who had been sexually assaulted. “Not a single one of them who went to trial actually ended up having a conviction,” she says. “The worst things is they're all so similar.”
Prima Facie contains discussions of sexual violence and comes with a trigger warning. The solo drama follows Tessa, a criminal defense barrister (or attorney) in the U.K. whose view of the legal system and its murky moral loopholes abruptly shifts when she is sexually assaulted.
Speaking to Digital Spy, Jodie – who does not have any children – said: "I think the biggest challenge, or what I really wanted to get right, was speaking to motherhood, making sure that it felt truthful.
Following rave reviews and an overwhelming response from Broadway audiences, Prima Facie will extend its limited run by two weeks. The production, originally scheduled to run through Sunday, June 18, 2023, will now run through Sunday, July 2, 2023 only at the Golden Theatre (252 West 45th Street).
A Latin term meaning "at first sight" or "at first look." This refers to the standard of proof under which the party with the burden of proof need only present enough evidence to create a rebuttable presumption that the matter asserted is true.
Jodie Comer has an estimated net worth of $6 million following her successful roles in Killing Eve, Free Guy and Doctor Foster, but that doesn't mean she's ready to splash her newfound cash.
There was not a dry eye in the entire cinema by the end and I've personally still not fully processed just how hard hitting and emotional the message of Prima Facie is. In Tessa's words, 'in the face of it, something has to change'. And it does. I cannot recommend watching it enough.
"Prima facie" means "on its face" or "at first glance." The prima facie definition originated in Latin where the term "prima" translates to "foremost" or "first," and "facie" translates to "appearance." Prima facie's meaning emphasizes that something seems plausible, but is not necessarily true beyond all doubt.
Prima Facie Determination expedites VAWA benefits and protections. It aims to aid domestic abuse victims to prevent further agony and confusion. The presumed decision identifies people who seem likely to receive the remedies.
1 hour and 40 minutes (no intermission). Recommended for ages 12 and up. Contains sensitive subject matters, including references to sex, violence and sexual assault.
Why is it important in the Court of law? The term Prima facie is a legal term or a legal claim which is made when the prosecution has enough evidence to proceed with a trial of judgement and to prove that the defendant is guilty. The term is derived from a Latin word which means, “at first sight” or “at first view”.
Introduction: My name is Barbera Armstrong, I am a lovely, delightful, cooperative, funny, enchanting, vivacious, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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