Sheridan Harbridge as Tessa. Photo: Brett Boardman
There’s the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. And then there is the legal truth. Which is often a patriarchal affair.
Sheridan Harbridge is awesome in this one-hander that highlights the bias against the female in sexual assault cases. She’ll keep your attention in a tour de force performance that arcs from triumphalism to shock, from despair to determination.
As a 30-something defence barrister, Tessa Ensler is at the top of her game. As she describes herself, she is a ‘thoroughbred’, primed and ready for the race. It’s not about what’s right or wrong, it’s about winning by the rules. The client is there to be defended. Sexual assault cases? She’ll get them off. “This is not life. This is the law.”
So Harbridge takes us through Tess’s proud successes. No silverfish, she has worked her way to the top by intelligence and hard work. She’s no pushover. But then there’s Damien, her defence lawyer colleague. They’ve had a dalliance before; what’s termed ‘consensual sex’ in legal parlance, but one night things get out of hand and what happens is definitely not consensual.
One in three women suffer some form of sexual assault. The statistics do not favour the victim in rape cases. Tessa knows that better than anyone. She’s pulled apart witness testimony. Knows exactly how it’s done. One hint of confusion, one incongruous detail – they’re gone!
It doesn’t matter if you’re a top-notch defence lawyer or the woman behind the till at the supermarket, why would anyone believe you weren’t to blame? Especially if your assailaint has a blue-chip defence team. You kissed him, did you? Had a drink or three, had you? Invited him back to your place, had you? What were you wearing? Your fault! Case closed. Let’s just go through the motions.
Tessa won’t give in though. So what we have in Prima Facie is a sudden reversal of roles. Just as the brain surgeon who finds himself a patient when diagnosed with cancer, Tessa finds herself – after 763 days of waiting, her career and reputation on hold – on the other side of the witness box as the plaintiff in a rape case.
Playwright Suzie Miller’s legal background informs her words, Lee Lewis’s taut direction and Harbridge’s brilliant delivery make for a compelling 90 minutes of theatre.
Prima Facie is an indictment of our legal system’s failure to provide reliable pathways to justice for women in rape, sexual assault or harassment cases. It’s a work of fiction, but one that could have been ripped from the headlines of any paper. To wit, the day after I saw the play, from a report about Queensland’s rape laws in The Guardian:
‘In November, a woman walked into a Gold Coast police station to report a sexual assault. In front of her rape crisis counsellor, the police officer told her there were “no real rapes” on the glitter strip.
“What we have most of the time is buyer’s regret,” the officer said.’
Something has to change. One fine day. Plays and performances like this move the case along. Harbridge’s Tessa doesn’t win (and that’s hardly a spoiler, folks) but it’s all about keeping the pressure on.
Prima Facie is at SBW Stables Theatre, Kings Cross until June 22 and Riverside Theatres, July 3 – 6
