Prima Facie (NHB Modern Plays)

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Tune into RN's Big Weekend Of Books at 10am, Saturday June 17, to hear Miller in conversation with Sarah Kanowski. Prima facie means ‘on the face’ or ‘at first glance’. In law, it can refer to either evidence that is regarded plausible but susceptible to refutation or a stage in a pre-trial proceeding in which it is assessed whether the plaintiff/complainant has a sufficiently plausible case to go to trial. Are prima facie and res ipsa loquitur similar? After acclaimed productions in Australia and winning the Australian Writers' Guild Award for Drama, Prima Facie received its European premiere in a sold-out run at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London's West End in 2022 starring Jodie Comer in her West End debut. It was named Best New Play at both the 2023 Olivier and WhatsOnStage Awards. A filmed version, released in 2022, went on to become the highest-grossing event cinema release ever in the UK.

The play cannily – and devastatingly – puts each audience member in the position of judge, juror, complainant and bystander, and approximates an inside view of how flawed the legal system is when it comes to adjudicating sexual assault. Together in the audience, we are a microcosm of the society that is complicit in this dysfunction. (Crucially, it also suggests how we might begin to level the playing field by moving to an “affirmative consent” model.) Although Kantian ethics are usually spoken of in terms of duty and doing the right thing, Kant himself thought that what was good was an essential part of ethics. This edition, published alongside Prima Facie's Broadway transfer in 2023, includes contributions from writer Suzie Miller, actor Jodie Comer, director Justin Martin, producer James Bierman and other key members of the creative team, letting you go deeper into the world of the play. There are also essays on the legal context and how the play has become a vehicle for change in attitudes towards the treatment of female victims of sexual assault.Supreme Court of India in Kehar Singh and Ors v. State (Delhi Admn.) (1988) that the fact that the two defendants who caused the death were seen isolating themselves on the roof and trying to hide as well as their conversing about the assassination with the family members, was enough to form a prima facie case. This is the case of the assassination of India’s former Prime Minister, Mrs Indira Gandhi.

In the play, Tessa is a young, brilliant barrister who has worked her way up from working-class origins to the top of her game: defending, cross-examining and winning. But when an unexpected event forces her to confront the patriarchal power of the law – where the burden of proof and morality diverge – she finds herself in a world where emotion and integrity are in conflict with the rules of the game. guidelines unless otherwise stated. With this in mind, we ask you to use your judgement in regards to a After seeing this live in June, and then seeing it four times in the cinema, I can literally see Jodie performing when I read this. We already know how amazing Jodie is, but Suzie Miller!! What an incredible playwright. So moving, truthful and so so important. I will never get bored of reading this, and it still makes me cry. Every time. The 20th Century philosopher W. D. Ross [Sir David Ross] (1877-1971) suggested that it would be helpful to look at two kinds of duty: But an unexpected event forces her to confront the patriarchal power of the law, where the burden of proof and morality diverge.

There is a touch of Killing Eve’s Villanelle in Comer’s darkly comic – almost camp – performance in the opening scene, which finds her shooting down a witness in court and describing it in the style of a saloon-bar showdown. Her character treats the law as a bloodsport and justifies tearing down the testimonies of women who claim assault by citing the legitimacy of “legal truth” (whatever can be proved beyond doubt) above actual truth.

I received this book in the mail before I went to London to see Jodie Comer’s impeccable performance. I’m glad that I listened to my gut and waited to read this because now, I am reliving that day through the words in print. This book/play I really can’t find the words for but SOMETHING HAS TO CHANGE! Coming from one of the one in three, our voices deserve to be heard. Be the voice, not an echo. We enjoyed the educational elements, the opportunity to get perspective on the procedural items, but some wished that could have been explored in more depth. Further, when it comes to the difficult subject matter, some thought that while it is a modern play, there is room in 2022 for a more nuanced conversation.It shows] change can happen just by speaking. If you believe something and you follow through with the questioning, sometimes there's some answers."