Prima Facie
by Suzie Miller
What happens when the system you believed in suddenly turns against you? When patriarchal structures, which you thought you had penetrated, seemingly become insurmountable? When you realize that your own responsibility in such a system cannot be denied? Prima Facie – this is the meaning of the legal term "Prima Facie." As long as no counter-evidence is presented, the prima facie evidence stands. The search for truth resembles a balancing act – whether the legal truth corresponds to the actual truth is not the issue in court at first. Nor is it for Tessa, a young star lawyer who uses words like sensitive, sharp tools for the benefit of her clients and her own career. The law, which is considered objective and reasonable, paves her way to professional and public power. Successes in court exhilarate her. It doesn’t matter what her client is accused of – robbery, bodily harm, sexual offenses. The main thing: to win.
But suddenly it no longer feels like a game: Tessa becomes a victim of rape. Suddenly the roles are reversed and she finds herself in the witness stand. She knows her own trial rests on prima facie evidence, which is true until it is disproven. Despite the hopeless situation, Tessa takes up the fight.
Australian playwright and screenwriter Suzie Miller worked for many years as a criminal defense attorney. Focus: sexual offenses. With her gripping one-woman play, premiered in Sydney in 2019, she has conquered the theater world and practically won all the important awards. The brand-new “Me-too” play was a huge success in London’s West End and on Broadway in New York, and was celebrated by audiences in the theaters of Munich, Hamburg, and Vienna. Prima Facie – thrilling, essential, under the spell of the present!
Directed by: Sven Grunert
Starring: Louisa Stroux
Duration: approx. 90 minutes without an intermission
Photo: Alvise Predieri
Hallo, ich bin Maya.
