Suzie Miller’s Prima Facie is a relentless force of a play. It bolts out of the gate with a pulsing, insistent rhythm that mirrors the high-stakes, caffeine-fuelled ambition of the legal world.
In this NORPA production, the text is delivered with the intensity of a fire hose – it is operating at a breakneck, overwhelming pace, yet is steered by director Heather Fairbairn with absolute, clinical control.
Fairbairn has drawn out a performance from Matilda Ridgway that is nothing short of athletic. One leaves the theatre with many thoughts, the least of which is, may this work never fall into hands less skilful than Ridgway’s, whose rigour keeps the play’s urgent message crystal clear.
Prima Facie: Tessa
Ridgway’s Tessa is introduced with a cheeky, youthful spirit; a criminal defence barrister who has mastered the rules of a game designed by men, for men. An early, playful beat involving a raised finger for a ‘but first’ establishes an immediate, winning rapport with the audience. We are on her side because she is brilliant, funny and seemingly untouchable.
The visual language of the production, with set and lighting design by Véronique Benett, is marvellous.
The floor, a reflective, metallic surface is scattered with tubes of light that evoke the cold sterility of a corporate legal office. Archive boxes are everywhere, serving as the literal building blocks of Tessa’s life. They are stacked to become a podium, shifted to form an apartment and eventually upturned to signal a world in collapse.
Benett’s lighting marries the production to the Byron Theatre space seamlessly; unlike some touring sets that feel packed in, this design feels lived in and expansive.
The sound design by Julian Starr is a standout element, functioning almost as a co-performer. Starr provides a throbbing nightclub pulse that feels insistent, a rhythm of ambition that underscores Tessa’s ascent. However, it is the more delicate work that lingers.
The blending of live microphone moments with the audio soundscape creates a haunting effect; echoes and blurred traces of recognisability reflect the fragmented nature of what director Heather Fairbairn describes in the program as a memory play.
There is a profound humanity in the audio choices. The use of Coldplay to underscore Tessa’s attempts to swoon in her apartment is grounded and relatable, while the interlinking sound cues that shift us through time and space are almost breath-like in their execution. It creates a blurring of the professional and the personal, reminding us that under the wig, there is a human heart beating at a frantic pace.
Prima Facie: costume
As the narrative shifts from the confidence of the defence to the vulnerability of the witness stand, Ella Lincoln’s costume design becomes pivotal.
Tessa seems to have a never-ending supply of transformations up her flowing court gown sleeves. The shedding of horsehair wigs and stiff collars highlights the aching humanity hidden behind the professional garb.
The inclusion of a pink shirt-specifically picked by her mother-is a delightful, heartbreaking detail. It represents the ‘identifiable’ self, hand-crafted and soft, standing in stark contrast to the rigid structures of the court.
The portrayal of the assault is handled with terrifying visual power. The set is consumed by a primal upturning of boxes and a cascade of thousands of tiny black fragments-perhaps rubber or gravel-that consume every inch of empty space.
The act maintains its power in the telling, refusing to let the audience look away while ensuring the message remains urgent and raw.
There is a reason Prima Facie has become a global phenomenon. It is a non-negotiable text for anyone interested in the intersection of art and justice. As a theatre person, it is simply on you to go see it and to take your friends, particularly the men in your life.
Ridgway’s performance is a masterclass in restraint. By holding back, she creates a momentum and a final release that feels like a physical blow. You are flung back into the real world at the end, feeling like a live wire-raw, exposed, and urgent. It is a direct call to action that ends on a note of hard-won hope.
This is a rare chance to see a world class production in much more intimate spaces than the 800 seat houses this show has been playing in West End and Broadway. See it.
Prima Facie is at the Byron Theatre, Byron Bay, until 14 February 2026.
This article is published as part of ArtsHub’s Creative Journalism Fellowship, an initiative supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.
