This week the National Theatre production Prima Facie has returned to cinemas across the country as part of the nationwide National Theatre Live scheme. Jodie Comer’s performance as criminal defence barrister Tessa Ensler has gained her an Olivier and Tony Award for Best Actress. It also won an Olivier award for best New Play, with writer Suzie Miller using her own background as a human rights lawyer to craft this ground-breaking piece of theatre.
Prima Facie poignantly details the nature of the law only working because ‘we all play our roles’. Tessa becomes renowned for successfully defending those accused of sexual assault, picking holes in the witness’ story not out of malice towards the complainant, but out of respect for the ‘game of law’. It is only when she finds herself on the other side of the courtroom that the game begins to unravel, and the nature of the law towards women calls her livelihood into question.
This play wields one of the most staggering performances in contemporary culture, and is absolutely necessary in highlighting that, despite 1 in 3 women experiencing sexual assault in their lifetime, more than 99 per cent of rapes reported to police do not end in a conviction. Prima Facie reached 70,000 people during its stage run at the National Theatre, but since its transfer to National Theatre Live screenings in local cinemas, this imperative play has been performed to over half a million people, displaying the need for change in our legal systems’ attitudes towards sexual assault on a much broader scale. It has been the most successful National Theatre Live screening, becoming the highest-grossing event cinema release in the UK and Ireland.
In line with its messaging, Prima Facie supports The Schools Consent Project; a charity dedicated to ‘educating and empowering young people to understand and engage with the issues surrounding consent and sexual assault’. The performance is also available free of charge to all schools in an attempt to effectively instil consent from a young age. National Theatre Live is an indispensable initiative that allows every person access to the most exciting plays and performances of our generation, for a fraction of the price. Recently, Nye, featuring Michael Sheen as NHS founder Nye Bevan, shone light on our own health care system 75 years on, as well as Vanya and Present Laughter (both featuring Andrew Scott) bringing the works of Chekov and Coward into public consumption in an easy, amusing, and accessible way.
“Jodie Comer, The Bikeriders premiere” by https://www.flickr.com/photos/drlovell/ is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.