Prima Facie opens to overwhelming demand in Melbourne
The original Australian production of Prima Facie by Suzie Miller (RBG: Of Many, One) – which went on to inspire a sold-out West End and upcoming Broadway season – finally arrives in Melbourne, opening on Saturday 11 February at Arts Centre Melbourne.
This one-woman powerhouse performance tells the story of a powerful defence lawyer who learns firsthand how unfit for purpose the legal system is for victims of sexual assault. Prima Facie is the fastest-selling show of Melbourne Theatre Company’s Season 2023 to date, proving Melbourne audiences’ appetite for socially relevant, compelling Australian stories.
Prima Facie premiered at Sydney’s Griffin Theatre Company in 2019 to widespread acclaim and celebrates its 100th show on Friday 10 February. The Melbourne season sees the original team including director Lee Lewis (Gloria) reuniting with Sheridan Harbridge (The Beast) in her award-winning role that holds nothing back.
Artistic Director & Co-CEO Anne-Louise Sarks said, ‘I saw the play when it first premiered in Sydney and knew immediately that Victorian audiences needed to see this show.
‘It is a searing indictment of a legal system that consistently fails women and clearly audiences are hungry to be part of that conversation. This powerful piece of storytelling is an empathetic and daring way to do just that.’
Playwright Suzie Miller said, ‘When my play Prima Facie had its first sold-out season in Sydney, I was beyond thrilled that a play I had written from a place of passion had found an audience. Finally, in the #MeToo era theatre was listening to the lived experiences of women, the nuance of women's lives examined.
‘The play had a full standing ovation each night, starting in previews, and it not only played to sold-out audiences for its NSW and QLD seasons, but again in London's West End. But now, my play comes to my hometown of Melbourne, the place where I was born and raised.
‘This monodrama is no longer mine but dedicated to the thousands of women who have directly messaged me, sent letters to stage doors or through my agents. The amazing stories they have bravely shared with me will always be the beauty of this work; words expressing how after going to the theatre and seeing a play gave them courage and a voice after their own experiences. That the character of Tessa spoke for them and to them. That Prima Facie could offer them any salve or strength illuminates the strength of theatre. I am so proud to work in this industry.’
About the play: Tessa Ensler is a woman at the top of her game: a defence lawyer who commands the respect of her colleagues and clients, with a string of unbroken wins under her belt. She knows the law inside out; she trusts the law. But when she finds herself on the other side of the bench, facing the very system she once put her faith in, she quickly realises that something has to change.
Suzie Miller is a contemporary international playwright, screenwriter and librettist, drawn to complex human stories often exploring injustice. Miller’s plays have been produced in over 40 productions around the world and won multiple prestigious awards. Her drama Prima Facie won AWGIE Awards for Drama, the Major Award and the David Williamson Prize in 2020; and the Griffin Award in 2018. It has now been translated into more than 20 languages. Most recently Prima Facie enjoyed extraordinary acclaim marking Miller’s West End debut produced by Empire Street Productions and starring Jodie Comer. The production will transfer to Broadway in 2023. Both the Australian and the West End productions have won and been nominated for multiple prestigious awards. Two new commissioned plays of Miller’s premiered in 2022: ANNA K (Malthouse Theatre) and RBG: Of Many, One (Sydney Theatre Company). Other recent theatre credits include: Prima Facie (Australian production), Caress/Ache, Sunset Strip, Dust, The Mathematics Oflonging, Medea, Driving Into Wall, OneFiveZeroSeven and Snow White.
Sheridan Harbridge is an award winning actor, writer and director, graduating from NIDA in 2006. For Melbourne Theatre Company she appeared in The Beast, The Speechmaker and North by Northwest. Her theatre acting credits include Stop Girl, Calamity Jane, The Sugar House, Girl Asleep, The Dog/The Cat (Belvoir Theatre); Prima Facie, Kill Climate Deniers, Jump for Jordan (Griffin Theatre Company); Queen Fatima (Sydney Festival); Gaybies (Darlinghurst). She wrote the musical Songs for the Fallen, which won Best Musical, and Outstanding actress at the New York Music Theatre Festival, and a Green Room Award. It appeared at Sydney, Brisbane, Auckland and Adelaide Cabaret Festival, and Arts Centre Melbourne. She recently appeared in The Twelve (Foxtel) and The Messenger (ABC). She won Best Actress at the Sydney Theatre Awards for her performance in the premiere season of Prima Facie and nominated for her role in Stop Girl at Belvoir Theatre.
Lee Lewis is the Artistic Director of Queensland Theatre and one of Australia’s leading directors. For Melbourne Theatre Company Lee has directed Gloria, Hay Fever and David Williamson’s Rupert, which toured to Washington DC as part of the World Stages International Arts Festival and to Sydney’s Theatre Royal in 2014. For Griffin she has directed The Bleeding Tree (Best Director at the 2016 Helpmann Awards), The Almighty Sometimes, Kill Climate Deniers, Eight Gigabytes of Hardcore Pornography, The Homosexuals or ‘Faggots’, Rice, Masquerade (co-directed with Sam Strong), Gloria, Emerald City, A Rabbit for Kim Jong-il, The Serpent’s Table (co-directed with Darren Yap), Replay, Silent Disco, Smurf In Wanderland, The Bull, The Moon and the Coronet of Stars, The Call, A Hoax, The Nightwatchman. Other directing credits include The Literati, The Misanthrope (for Griffin and Bell Shakespeare); The School for Wives, Twelfth Night (Bell Shakespeare); That Face, This Heaven, Half and Half, A Number, 7 Blowjobs, Ladybird (Belvoir).
Cast Sheridan Harbridge
Director Lee Lewis
Set & Costume Designer Renée Mulder
Lighting Designer Trent Suidgeest
Composer & Sound Designer Paul Charlier
Dates 8 February – 25 March
Opening Night Saturday 11 February
Venue Arts Centre Melbourne, Fairfax Studio
Tickets Limited tickets for Prima Facie are on sale now. For more information visit mtc.com.au
This production contains mature themes, sexual references and descriptions of sexual violence. If you or anyone you know needs support, you can contact the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732), Lifeline 131 114, Beyond Blue 1300 224 636 or Rainbow Door 1800 729 367.
Published on 10 February 2023
