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Suzie Miller’s buzzy play ‘Prime Facie’ is also a book – and Jodie Comer narrates it
The story follows a criminal defense barrister who becomes a victim
Suzie Miller wrote the award-winning show Prima Facie after 15 years of working in law and listening to victim testimony. Now, Jodie Comer is set to reprise her role in the buzzy play as it goes on tour next year.
After debuting in pre-covid Australia, Prima Facie premiered in the West End in 2022. Starring Jodie Comer and with composition by Self Esteem, the show went on to win best new show and best actress at the Lawrence Olivier Awards before opening on Broadway. It then broke box office records when it played in cinemas for NT Live – unsurprisingly a film is now also in the works.
“It is a huge privilege to return to Prima Facie for one last time,” said Comer. “I can’t think of a better finale to what has been such an incredible and deeply rewarding chapter in my life.” The tour will begin in London on 23 January 2026, before visiting cities across the UK and concluding in Comer’s hometown Liverpool on 21 March.
Inspired by Miller’s experience as a criminal defence lawyer in sexual assault cases, the play follows Tessa, a criminal defence barrister who specialises in defending men accused of sexual assault. Then, she was assaulted herself. As Tessa tries to get justice for her own rape, Miller drives home how the legal system consistently fails women in court.
To bring it to a wider audience, Miller turned the hit play into a novel last year. She dedicated it to “all the women who comprise the ‘one in three’”, referring to a line in the play’s powerful script about the number of women who are sexually assaulted in the UK each year.
If you’re yet to see the play or want to revisit Tessa’s story, here’s where you can buy the book version of Suzie Miller’s Prima Facie – plus the audiobook narrated by Jodie Comer herself.
Prime Facie by Suzie Miller, published by Hutchinson Heinemann: £13.59, Amazon.co.uk
A novelised version of the award-winning play, Miller’s Prima Facie pads out the court drama. A successful barrister who’s disguised her working-class roots in a male-dominated world, she specialises in getting men acquitted from sexual assault trials. But when the tables are turned and a date with a colleague goes horribly wrong, Tessa is forced to question the lies she’s built a career on.
If your gearing up to see Jodie Comer’s one-woman turn in the play on tour, get a flavour of what to expect with the audiobook (£12.99, Amazon.co.uk). Narrated by the Tony-award-winning actor in what’s sure to be an equally powerful performance, the audiobook delves deeper into Tessa’s story.
Want more inspiration? Check out our round-up of the best new must-read novels