BY CAITLIN CEFAI

Prima Facie is a one-woman play brought to the big screen by National Theatre Live and turns a glaring spotlight on the Australian legal system's inability to adequately prosecute sexual assault cases.

Artfully scripted and performed, the drama brings identity to victims through its one-woman soliloquy, which explores how victims are re-victimised by the legal system.

Written by Australian lawyer and playwright Suzie Miller, Prima Facie tells the story of a woman’s tragic journey from cocky and high-performing defence lawyer, to devastating sexual assault survivor. All without an intermission.

Spellbinding and spectacular is its star Jodie Comer, who executes the extraordinary feat of delivering two straight hours of dialogue. Painting a picture well beyond the lawyer’s chambers set she resides in for the entirety of the production.

Comer reels the audience in instantly as "Tessa". She balances the humour of eating two minute noodles from a cup in her chambers, before switching to sharp-tongued defence lawyer and boasting about successfully clearing men accused of sexual assault.

The play follows Tessa’s rise to defence lawyer and backgrounds her university life at Oxford as complex. She came from a poor family, but she was ambitious and worked her way to the top.

Then, the audience comes to understand Tessa's relationship with her fellow lawyers, before tragedy strikes and she becomes victim to the very crime she has worked to absolve men of.

Balancing tense dark moments of paranoia and fear, with the wit and wisdom that Comer masterfully executes.

Miller alienates Tessa from the audience and in real-time we come to see how wrong we were to judge Tessa from her profession, as her life begins to spiral when she comes to terms with the assault she has faced.

The assault is not depicted on stage. Instead the audience is gripped by Tessa's recount of being overpowered and raped.

All made more jarring as costume changes were conducted on stage, Comer peeling off her court dress to reveal underwear and a singlet, starkly reducing Tessa from a powerful career woman to a terrified victim.

Costume is used in Prima Facie as a means of highlighting how women are often blamed for being taken advantage of because of the clothes they are wearing.

Tessa wears a long green silk dress before she is stripped and assaulted naked.

Comer changes into the only outfit Tessa can access — summer clothes from her spare bedroom.

Props to director Justin Martin and costume designer Miriam Buether for the execution of such a visually stimulating dance of undressing.

As Tessa runs into the midnight rain of London and makes her way to a police station the clothes become soiled, highlighting the guilt, fear, anger and embarrassment she feels as the stage fades into darkness.

Comer disappears from view and a ticker counts the days that pass as rain floods the stage and audiences are left grappling with the stark reality of how long a victim survivor has to wait to face their attacker in court.

This part of the play was a shifting point from merely a great performance to a viewing experience that will stick with audiences long after the final curtain.

The play continues and ends with the court case Tessa, now embodying an everywoman in the criminal justice system, endures. Her inner thoughts messily amalgamated with her cross examination.

Ending on a call to action "something has to change!", the play encourages a review into the legal system. It demands sexual assault survivors are no longer forced to deal with the complexities of the law, instead of compassionate and humane treatment.

Watching the play in a cinema was a unique experience. It was initially strange, but allowed more magic to be brought to the performance through framing. Close ups and pans were utilised by the cinematographers to apply a layer of movement that otherwise would have been missed if viewed as a stage show.

Other valuable aspects of the production was the score from musician Self Esteem and sound designers Ben and Max Ringham.

Full of throttling drums and electrified synth waves, Prima Facie was equally a musical masterpiece, as it was theatrical one.

This was supported by a cleverly constructed lighting plan that used Miriam Buether’s set design of ring-binder law briefs on bookcases as walls, which lit up in succession at the end of the performance, case by case. This provided a strong visual representation of the number of victims who were not just victims of violence but also - to quote the play itself - “the game of law”.

I would recommend watching this production in cinemas, but it comes with a strong trigger warning. If you are easily affected by the allusion to, and discussion of, sexual violence and rape this might be one to miss.

On the other hand, it is an essential watch for those unaware of the treatment of victims in the legal system, and is incredibly morally and ethically thought-provoking.

Head here for more information on screenings.