Written by Suzie Miller
Performed by Sheridan Harbridge and directed by Lee
Lewis for Griffin Theatre Company.
Canberra Theatre Centre 26th – 29th June,
2019
Reviewed by Bill Stephens
.
An extraordinary performance by Sheridan Harbridge, as
Tess, a criminal lawyer and survivor of a sexual assault, in Suzie Miller’s
searing indictment of the Australian legal system’s handling of sexual assault
matters had the audience transfixed on the opening night of “Prima Facie” in
Canberra.
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| Sheridan Harbridge in "Prima Facie" |
At the top of her game, Tess is smug and confident.
She loves to win, even when defending clients accused of sexual assault. To win
you just have to follow the rules, and Tess knows the law permits no room for
emotion. She knows all the tricks of the trade, and happily demonstrates them
at the beginning of the play. But when she’s raped by a work colleague and
decides to press charges, she finds that hard won confidence shattered when
forced to describe her experience in minute detail and faced with the realization
that her account is unlikely to be believed.
Described in the program notes as “a scientist who
evolved into a lawyer who evolved into a playwright”, Suzie Miller certainly
knows her law. She’s drawn on her years
of experience as a human rights and criminal defence lawyer to craft a hard-hitting,
compelling play sizzling with authenticity and insights which compel further
discussion.
Director Lee Lewis has chosen to focus on the text
with her perfectly paced, stylish production, performed on a spare, elegant setting
designed by Renee Mulder, and tightly lit by Trent Suidgeest, in which a
shining metal chair on a raised platform is the only prop.
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| Sheridan Harbridge in "Prima Facie" |
Alone on stage
for the full duration of the play, Sheridan Harbridge gives a compelling
performance of astonishing range and nuance. As the upwardly mobile Tess, she conjures
up the formality and ritual of the courtroom as she confidently demonstrates her
courtroom tactics. Her description of her rape is clinical and gut-wrenching, and
her depiction of Tess’s shattering realization that her credibility is being
questioned is brilliantly portrayed.
“Prima Facie” is an absorbing, timely play which
forces its audience to consider difficult questions and leaves it wrestling
with how these questions should be addressed. The animated conversations in the
foyer afterwards provided proof positive of how eagerly the audience had
accepted this challenge. .
This Review also appears in Australian Arts Review. www.artsreview.com.au