Prima facie

Prima facie - a legal term meaning "apparent evidence"

Tessa has made it: from a working-class child to a sought-after criminal defence barrister who wears her horsehair wig with pride. Her calendar is packed. She successfully defends men accused of sexual assault - because a good defence lawyer tells only the best version of the story. Her task is to find gaps in the prosecution and cross-examine the victims' statements. For her, it's about legal truth: not whether the victim consented, but whether the defendant knew there was no consent.

One evening, she goes to the pub with Alice and Julian - prosecco, tequila, small talk. Tessa grows closer to Julian, and they sleep together. But then something happens that she didn't expect: Julian becomes sexually aggressive. Was it bad sex in a heavily intoxicated state - or was it rape? Tessa goes to the police.

As a witness for the prosecution, she now experiences the court proceedings from the other side. What she discovers fundamentally changes her perspective: the female experience of sexualised violence, she concludes, does not fit into a legal system shaped by men.

Suzie Miller's monologue premiered in Sydney in 2019 and has since played in London's West End and on Broadway. In spring 2022, Jodie Comer ("Killing Eve") took on the role of Tessa at the National Theatre in London - more than 300,000 viewers saw the play through the broadcast of National Theatre Live in cinemas. The German-language premiere took place on 17 September 2023 at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin.

Best New Play - Olivier Award 2023
Best New Play - WhatsOnStage Award 2023