Tessa is a thoroughbred. A young, brilliant barrister who loves to win. She has worked her way up from working-class origins to be at the top of her game; defending; cross-examining and lighting up the shadows of doubt in any case. An unexpected event forces her to confront the lines where the patriarchal power of the law, burden of proof and morals diverge. Suzie Miller’s award-winning Prima Facie takes us to the heart of where emotion and experience collide with the rules of the game. Justin Martin directs this solo actor tour de force from Jodie Comer.
Comer is a superb athlete. “Prima Facie” runs 90 minutes, and in its first 15 minutes, it appears that this actor never takes a breath as she races at breakneck speed through her character’s background as a defense barrister for persons accused of sexual abuse. The extreme alacrity and force of Comer’s delivery is part aggression; she plays a very truculent defense lawyer named Tessa Ensler. It is also part compensation for the character being a woman born in the working-class. At Cambridge University, she had been surrounded by students, most of them male, to the manor born. She defends her fierce grilling of the plaintiff because that is her role as a defense lawyer. Tessa is a real professional.
The clipped, verse-like script buffets us with waves of vivid detail and quick cuts, mostly delivered at top speed by Comer. After twenty minutes of Tessa’s motor-mouthed triumphalism and lawyer-splaining one longs for strategic pauses to texture the tale, but perhaps fatigue is part of the tactic. We must tire of Tessa’s blustery assurance, so her reversal carries greater weight and complexity. Even so, Miller’s play seems padded at the top and overly preachy at the bottom, pressing home a case it has already won with metaphorical italics and boldface. Nevertheless, Comer’s astoundingly fluid, musical and passionate performance wins the day. She leaves nothing on the field.
Digital Lottery:
Price: $10
Where: primafacieplay.com/ticket-lottery
When: Beginning April 5, 2023, tickets priced at $10 for the following week's performances will be released every Wednesday.
Limit: Two per customer
Information: Tickets are subject to availability.
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