Prima Facie

Griffin Theatre Company and Seymour Centre will present Suzie Miller’s sharp and poignant play, Prima Facie (winner of the 2018 Griffin Award), from 23rd June to 10th July at Seymour Centre. 

Directed by Helpmann Award winner, Lee Lewis (The Bleeding Tree, The Almighty Sometimes, Kill Climate Deniers), Prima Facie is a rapid-fire and gripping one-woman show that exposes the shortcomings of a patriarchal justice system where it’s her word against his. 

Criminal lawyer Tessa, played by acclaimed actor, Sheridan Harbridge (Channel 7’s The Doctor Blake Mysteries, Belvoir’s Stop Girl), is at the top of her game and knows the law permits no room for emotion. Tessa loves to win, even when defending clients accused of sexual assault. However, when she finds herself on the other side of the bar, Tessa is forced into the same shadows of doubt she has so ruthlessly cast over other women. 

Prima Facie is an indictment of the Australian legal system’s failure to provide reliable pathways to justice for women in rape, sexual assault or harassment cases. Though it is a work of fiction, Miller’s superb script is a story we know all too well.