Jodie Comer might be famous for Killing Eve, but beyond Ridley Scott’s Last Duel and Channel 4’s Help with Stephen Graham, there is Prima Facie. A monumental one woman play in which she portrays Tessa, an up-and-coming barrister on the prosecution who ends up in the witness box. A victim of non-consensual sex, who is violated by her colleague after an evening out – what Comer manages in 90 minutes on stage is nothing short of miraculous.
Pacing the simple set like a fairground barker and shifting props to convey her story, Tessa reveals her rise through the ranks in vivid detail. Addressing the audience with all the raw emotion of an untethered talent finally let loose, Comer commands this play like an orchestral conductor. Drawing drama from the smallest gesture, adopting accents like a chameleon, before stripping away any vestiges of showmanship in the latter stages. In every conceivable sense this is a tour de force performance, that deservedly won her Best Actress at the Tonys and Olivers in 2023.
On the big screen nothing is lost, and audiences will have no choice but to consider the moral message. Rape is an unforgiveable act of violence that leaves lifelong scars. Prima Facie comes at this contemporary subject with all the intelligence, integrity, and emotional honesty it can muster. Exploring the pre-emptive moment of no return, before dissecting the aftermath more than two years later, when Tessa’s case finally goes to trial. Vital in a way only landmark theatre can be, Suzie MIller presents her case with all the unrelenting honesty, intellectual vigour, and cultural distain she can muster. Leaving audiences in no doubt as to what Prima Facie is trying to do.
Jodie Comer channels all these conflicting emotions, vitriolic outbursts, and gender disparities with ease. Only leaving the stage once for five minutes to draw breath – Prima Facie is nothing short of a 90-minute monologue. One in which she conveys countless characters, occupies numerous locations in her mind’s eye, and brings Tessa to life in living colour. Capturing every excruciating moment of this savage social commentary without missing a beat. Culturally relevant, brutally honest, and an intellectual acting exercise with backbone and bite – Prima Facie is entertainment in the loosest sense. This is a play that comes out swinging, with an actor on stage that strives and strains with ever sinew to get the point across. This is no actor out for awards; but someone brandishing words like a weapon on a topic that is truly traumatic.
NTLive: Prima Facie is in selected cinemas now.