
'Prima Facie' review — Jodie Comer makes a riveting Broadway debut in this legal drama
Read our four-star review of Suzie Miller's Prima Facie on Broadway, which stars Emmy Award winner Jodie Comer, at the Golden Theatre through July 2.
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After a sold-out engagement in London's West End, Suzie Miller's Prima Facie is on Broadway, starring Emmy winner and 2023 Tony Award winner Jodie Comer. Get Prima Facie tickets on New York Theatre Guide and see the four-time Tony-nominated tour-de-force.
The Prima Facie play centers on the barrister Tessa. (In the U.K. and other regions, a barrister is a type of lawyer who is qualified to advocate for a client in court, rather than just provide legal counsel.) She is a young woman from a working-class background who now at the top of her field. She's on a case-winning streak, and she loves the thrill of victory, of finding the weakness in her opposition and skillfully exploiting it. While she deeply respects the legal system, as a defense attorney, she also knows her job is to support her client, even if that means defending a position that's untrue.
Tessa has a reckoning with her mission, however, when she herself is a victim of sexual assault. Suddenly, she's seeing her profession from the other side — and recognizes the many aspects of her story her assailant's defense lawyer, were they anything like her, could and would use against her, and the toll that takes on a person seeking justice. The audience sees Tessa decide, amid trauma, how much she's willing to compromise the absolute "burden of proof" she's hinged her career on to fight for what she knows to be true, or vice versa. Prima Facie, which means "at first glance" in Latin, is a story about one woman confronting the stark divide between the lived experience of many women and the patriarchal legal system they face.
Before the premiere of Prima Facie on Broadway, the show debuted in London's West End to critical acclaim. A Prima Facie review on London Theatre reads, "Suzie Miller’s one-woman show Prima Facie... embodies an urgent real-life issue, this time an indefensibly broken legal system, and, in an astonishing tour-de-force performance, Comer commits, body and soul, to laying bare the human cost... Throughout this 100-minute piece, even in its weaker moments, Comer is absolutely riveting. She uses her shape-shifting talents to great effect, sketching in numerous other characters – from her posh colleagues to her abrasive mum and combative brother. She also gives Tessa a vivid emotional journey."
Director Justin Martin makes his Broadway directing debut with Prima Facie in New York. He previously associate directed Skylight, The Audience, and the Tony Award-winning Best Play The Inheritance on Broadway.
Comer is best known for her role as Villanelle in the TV show Killing Eve, which earned her an Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe nominations. She has also appeared in movies like Free Guy and The Last Duel.
Prima Facie marked Comer's and Miller's West End debuts, and now marks their Broadway debuts as well.
Tickets to Prima Facie on Broadway are available now.
Please note that Prima Facie contains discussions of sexual violence.
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1hr 40min (no intermission)
April 11th, 2023
July 2nd, 2023
Broadway, Plays
Golden Theatre
By: Suzie Miller
Director: Justin Martin
Cast list: Jodie Comer (as Tessa)
Design: Miriam Buether
Costumes: Miriam Buether
Lighting: Natasha Chivers
Sound: Ben and Max Ringham
Other info: Original music by Rebecca Lucy Taylor
Read our four-star review of Suzie Miller's Prima Facie on Broadway, which stars Emmy Award winner Jodie Comer, at the Golden Theatre through July 2.
The Emmy-winning British actress won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Play for performing in the one-woman legal drama by Suzie Miller on Broadway.
Suzie Miller's new play, which stars Emmy Award winner Jodie Comer, will offer 10 tickets to every performance priced at $10 via a digital lottery each week.
The Emmy-winning actress makes her Broadway debut in this thrilling legal drama.
Comer previously performed the show in London's West End.