Jodie Comer in Prima Facie
(Picture: Helen Murray)Killing Eve star Jodie Comer absolutely storms the West End in this one-woman show, playing a barrister specialising in sexual assault cases who is herself then raped. Her working-class character Tessa Ensler starts off as an exuberant ball of energy, swaggering and shimmying around a set lined with legal files, glorying in her ability to navigate the hierarchy and the technical nuances of law.
Not to mention its innate theatricality: a barrister friend once pointed out to me the significance of costume, staging and ritual in court, something Tessa’s character embraces. She relishes the idea of adversarial performance, of winning over the crowd. After the violation, she’s physically stiff, emotionally stripped, wounded but uncowed. Even her face looks different. Tessa’s elegantly mocking cheekbones suddenly seem stark and strained.
