Prima Facie (Play)

Top criminal lawyer Tessa believes in the law, she believes in the system, she believes in playing by the rules. If you play by the rules, justice will be served. She has not only staked her career on these principles, she has placed her very faith in them. But when the tables are turned and Tessa has to take the witness stand, she is forced to confront the shortcomings of the legal system and its patriarchal foundations of justice. In the multi-award-winning play Prima Facie, Suzie Miller delivers a one-woman tour de force-by turns wryly amusing and powerfully shocking-that exposes the failings of a system seemingly designed to further brutalise women who have experienced sexual assault, rape or harassment.

For Tessa, as for so many women, truth turns out to be less about reality and more about how you play the game. And in this court, nobody wins. Prima Facie won Best New Play at both the Olivier Awards and the WhatsOnStage Awards in 2023, as well as the 2020 AWG Best Play Award, the David Williamson Prize, and the Major AWGIE award.