Prima Facie

German Translation by Anne Rabe

#Law #Fuck the Patriarchy #Justice

Even with the highest marks, perfect A-levels and first class BA-degrees: Two thirds of all students enrolled at the top law school will never graduate. Out of those who do, only half will work within the justice system. And only five of those will become lawyers. But Tessa did it.

This child from the working class, who had to fight hard for her place in the world, has become a successful criminal defence lawyer, and she wears her horsehair wig with pride. Like all criminal defence lawyers, Tessa believes in the law, in the system, and in the presumption of innocence. This presumption is no mere truism in her eyes, but the foundation of a civilised society. And that is why she defends the culprits, looks for gaps in indictments and meticulously examines the statements made by victims and witnesses. And Tessa is one of the best in her line of work.
Whether it is a drug trial, allegations of corruption or sexual assault: All that Tessa cares about is the legal truth and the evidence that will help her defendants to be declared "innocent" before the law. Sympathies don’t matter during cross examination, everybody must be subjected to the lawyer’s harsh questioning. And this also goes for the victims of alleged sexual assault: Their statements are analysed and dissected in court.

Until the day when something happens which Tessa had believed impossible: After a date, a colleague with whom she is having an affair assaults her sexually. While her life breaks apart before her very eyes, Tessa turns from defence lawyer to prosecutor and experiences the events in court from the opposing side. "Prima facie" is a legal term that means "until recalled" or "as long as there is no new evidence". Can the system in which Tessa had so much faith protect her – or will it betray her in the end?

The award-winning monologue by the Australian author Suzie Miller was premiered in Sidney in 2019 and has been produced with great success in London’s West End and, most recently, on Broadway.

Table of Contents
We would like to point out that this play also deals with sexualised violence, rape and coping with trauma.