Prima Facie – Carriageworks (NSW)

Written by Suzie Miller. Presented by Black Swan Theatre Company and Carriageworks Sydney

A powerful interrogation of structural bias around our political, legal and social systems’ treatment of sexual assault

Reviewed by Claira Prider
Bay 17, Carriageworks
2-12 July, 2025
Tickets: https://carriageworks.com.au/events/prima-facie-2025/

Type: Courtroom Drama, One Woman Show,
If you liked: RBG, American Signs, Promising Young Woman

Content warning: this review discusses sexual assault and rape.

Prima facie: from Latin prīmā (“first”) faciē (“shape, figure”), literally “at the first appearance.” Suzie Miller’s Prima Facie is a one woman show that examines how our legal system is structurally biased against the victim in rape trials. “We don’t interrogate the laws on assumptions, instead we persist on interrogating the victims.”

The work opens to a dark stage, empty except for fourteen large, black pillars. We hear her heartbeat, then her heels clacking on the floor, and then we meet her. Intelligent, powerful, arrogant and tenacious, Tessa Engler is a young criminal defence lawyer and she’s on a winning streak. Written in first person, present tense, we’re instantly in Tessa’s world from the second she saunters into the light. The prose gives intimacy and immediacy from the first words; we’re privy to her inner dialogue and what’s behind the armour. The writing positions us the audience as witnesses to her trial. With the perfect amount of exposition, Miller’s writing balances the deeply uncomfortable and subversive narrative with moments of lightness and strength.

From working-class family upbringing to early days of law school, we follow Tessa’s blossoming career. Oozing legal prowess, she shares her process and tactics when arguing a sexual assault case with disarming frankness. Her focus isn’t on the truth. Her focus isn’t on whether the victim consented. Her focus is on whether there’s possible doubt around whether her client knew if she was consenting or not. The ‘legal truth’.

She wins the cases because she plays the game of the law, she revels in the performance of appearing in court. It’s not until a tipsy night out with her colleague that turns from flirty to forceful, that she finds herself on the other side of the witness stand. Like most, her rapist is someone she knows and trusted and who comes equipped with an abundance of positive character references. The second act unfolds in the courtroom as Tessa takes to the witness box in her own rape trial after two years of waiting for her court date. She’s spent her entire professional life participating in a system that she believed in but now is hurting her so deeply.  

Portrayed by Sof Forrest, the script incorporates 26 different roles including those of other barristers, a taxi driver, her mum, police, the rapist and the victim. Their debate is rigorous, articulate and astute, carrying us through the different settings and scenes with rich and vivid imagery. With few props or costume changes and 95 minutes of uninterrupted dialogue, it’s an extremely exposing role, in which Forrest portrays with great clarity and precision.

Forrest says “Kate Champion, our phenomenal Director, reminds me that I owe it to Tessa, and to every survivor, to stay the course and tell this story with care and clarity.” It would be easy to wallow in this role, which Forrest doesn’t do – their portrayal and characterisation feels more cerebrally driven than emotional, it’s a painfully human and deeply personal performance, and one that speaks to the dichotomy of the expectations on victims. Their stoic performance clearly depicts Tessa’s full circle transformation of beliefs and her fear of becoming a victim and losing the girl who fought so hard to be seen.

Bruce McKivern’s and Andy Cross’ set includes a large rotating stage which propels the journey and maintains the urgency of pace throughout. Peter Young’s lighting cleverly exposes the dissonance of Tessa’s plight, particularly, during a scene where she is the barrister interrogating and cross examining. Lit from the sides, she looks small from front on, yet is casting huge, towering shadows on either side wall. The effective design challenges ideas of power and perception and reinforces the incongruency and discomfort we feel. Jessica Russell‘s AV design provides a jarring, jolting backdrop of traumatic flashbacks of Tessa’s assault that highlight how retraumatising the process of pressing charges is.

…it’s an extremely exposing role, in which Forrest portrays with great clarity and precision….it’s a painfully human and deeply personal performance

I didn’t leave the theatre feeling completely defeated from the ending of Prima Facie. Art can affect change. Theatre is a vehicle for social change. Prima Facie is a call to arms. It’s a plea for change. It speaks such a universal truth that it’s been translated into more than thirty languages and performed in more than fifteen countries since it premiered in 2019. Partnering with charities and organisations, the global success of Prima Facie has funded consent education workshops for students around the world. A live recording of the play is now mandatory viewing for the High Court bench in Northern Ireland. After seeing the play, a senior British judge rang Miller to let her know that she had rewritten the direction that judges read out to the jury in rape cases to include that, just because someone doesn’t remember something perfectly, it doesn’t mean they’re lying.

Miller’s text is revealing of how deeply traumatic, humiliating and isolating reporting sexual assault is. It highlights that the the structure of our legal system is “shaped by the male experience, its cases decided by generations of male judges and its statutes legislated by generations of male politicians”.

Theatre Thought: Art is a powerful vehicle for social and cultural change. Have you seen a piece of theatre that changed your opinion or encouraged you to re-examine your own beliefs?

Creative Team:

Director – Kate Champion

Writer – Suzie Miller

Associate Producer – Sof Forrest

Cast – Sof Forrest

Set Designer – Bruce McKinven

Set Realiser – Andy Cross

Costume Designer – Lynn Ferguson

Lighting Designer – Peter Young

Composer & Sound Designer – Melanie Robinson

Audio Visual Designer – Jessica Russell

Vocal Coach – Jean Goodwin