Review: PRIMA FACIE Is A Powerful Piece Of Pertinent Theatre That That Lifts the Lid On The Flaws Of The Legal System

Thursday 23rd May 2019, 7pm, SBW Stables Kings Cross

In an age where more women are gaining the courage to come forward when they have been sexually assaulted, they are still, all too often, let down by the legal system. In its world premiere, Suzie Miller's 2018 Griffin Award winning play PRIMA FACIE highlights the flaws of the legal system with a captivating and compelling solo performance by Sheridan Harbridge under Lee Lewis' direction.

Designer Renee Mulder draws on the corporate sterility of office suites and unadorned modern district courts to present a very simple aesthetic. A raised square stage rises out of SBW Stables' standard stage leaving room for movement around the podium along with the ability for vertical variety. A solitary modern executive chair forms the only set dressing. Harbridge, in simple corporate black suit and button-down white oxford shirt and high heels, is Tessa, a 30 something defence lawyer, so successful that she is potentially one of the top two barristers on her floor. Tessa has worked hard for her career, driven to prove herself, and everyone else, that she, the apparent misfit in law school, was as good, if not better, than the private school educated students she studied with. She has complete faith in the legal system and a high success rate as a defence lawyer. Her cocky confidence is however shattered when she ends up on the other side of the interrogation and she feels the weight of the strategies she herself used against victims when defending men accused of sexual assault.

Part of PRIMA FACIE's impact comes from the insight and lived experience that Miller has built into the work as she draws on her past as a human rights and criminal defence lawyer. Harbridge, under Lewis' direction, has taken Miller's incredibly insightful script and infused it with her fabulous performance style that shifts from humorous characterization of a confident hot-shot barrister to a woman finally realizing the gravity of the role she once played in setting perpetrators of sexual assault free. Harbridge has a wonderful physicality that balances the fine line with to keep the work from caricature whilst ensuring that the comedy of the piece is conveyed and the gravity is felt. She also ensures that even though the initial impression of Tessa is a tough no-hold-barred go getter who possesses traits attributed to the men of her field, recognizing that it is very much a man's world and that is the only way she knows how to succeed, the audience still want to like her, as Harbridge ensures they see the humanity behind the bravado. The pace of the work is perfectly timed from the use of silence to the flowing shift from one memory to the next. These changes are assisted by subtle physical shifts and more significantly Trent Suidgeest's lighting design which also helps colour the mood.

PRIMA FACIE is a powerful piece of theatre that may have you cheering that someone has finally put this story on stage, or it may have you wanting to scream that it still necessary to tell this story, or you may, as your BWW reviewer did, feel like doing both. It does what good theatre should do. It makes you feel and it makes you think. As much as PRIMA FACIE is providing a voice for the people that do realise the flaws of the legal system, it is possibly even more important for those that don't fully understand the complexity of the legal process so that as a society we can demand a change for a fairer system. Please make time to see this important piece of theatre that both entertains and enlightens and hopefully it will help prompt the change that is so desperately needed.

https://griffintheatre.com.au/whats-on/prima-facie/

SBW Stables Season: 17 May - 22 June

Performance Times
Monday - Friday 7pm
Saturday 2pm & 7pm
Wednesday 19 June 2pm & 7pm

Run Time
Approximately 100 minutes without interval

Meet the Artists
Tuesday 28 May

Captioned Performance
Tuesday 18 June

Following the SBW Stables Season, PRIMA FACIE will transfer to Riverside Parramatta:

When: 7.45pm on 3 rd to 6 th July and 2.15pm 6 th July 2019
Tickets: Adult $62, Concession $57. Available https://riversideparramatta.com.au/show/prima-facie/ or from the Box
Office (02) 8839 3399. Discounts available for Riverside Theatres' Members. Transaction fees: phone $4.60, web $3.60 and
counter $2.60.
Where: Riverside Theatres - corner of Church and Market Sts, Parramatta

Content Warning
This production contains adult themes and descriptions of sexual violence. If you have questions regarding the content of the play please contact our Box Office.

NSW Rape Crisis 1800 424 017 (24/7)

Sexual Assault Counselling Australia 1800 211 028
(8am - 11pm, Mon - Fri)
sexualassaultcounselling.org.au

Photographs: Brett Boardman

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