How Now Brown Cow, presents the South African premiere of Tony and Olivier Award-winning gripping legal drama Prima Facie at the Baxter Theatre Studio from 4 to 29 August.
Written by Suzie Miller, this production is directed by esteemed director Neil Coppen (Isidlamlilo/The Fire Eater; Animal Farm; Tin Bucket Drum), with powerhouse performer Danica De La Rey Jones (Hunting Jessica Brok; Unseen; For Colored Girls) in the role of Tessa, a brilliant young barrister, who climbs her way up from working class origins to the top of her game.
Tessa believes in the legal system until a brutal attack turns her world upside down as she navigates the same system she once championed – defending, cross examining and winning. Now put on trial herself, re-traumatized through her cross-examination, she finds herself questioning everything she believed about justice. Prima Facie is a hard-hitting look at the “patriarchal power of the law” where the burden of proof and existing rules of evidence often work against victims of sexual violence.
Danica De La Rey Jones
Lighting Design for the production is by Tina Le Roux, with Set Design by Patrick Curtis and Sound Design by Charl-Johan Lingenfelder.
The 2022 London production of the show was nominated for five Laurence Olivier Awards, with wins for Best New Play and Best Actress for Jodie Comer, who subsequently won a Tony Award for the same role on Broadway in New York.
“Beyond merely presenting a gripping staging of Prima Facie on South African stages, I’m excited by the opportunity this creates to use the production strategically to deepen the discussion around its concerns and themes with our audiences,” says director Neil Coppen.
“Miller’s play poses some tough and provocative questions around the law and legal systems that are supposedly put in place to protect us all. I think the play really asks the questions around who created the law in the first place and Tessa’s, the protagonists journey, reveals how it’s clearly been constructed to serve and protect a select and powerful few.”
“I’m always inspired by complex and contemporary texts that speak to the world we are navigating and I’m very much looking forward to working with Danica on this,” he says.
How Now Brown Cow in association with The Market Theatre presents the production in Johannesburg from 17 September to 4 October at The Market Theatre.
WHAT: Prima Facie
WHERE: The Baxter Studio, Baxter Theatre Centre, Main Road, Rondebosch, Cape Town 7600
WHEN:4 to 29 August 2026 | Duration: 75 mins (No Interval)
BOOKING: Webtickets | NO UNDER 14s (Content Warning: Expect strong references to sexual assault, violence, and potentially triggering content)
INFO: Baxter Theatre VISIT |
