PRESS: SA premiere of gripping legal drama PRIMA FACIE

Christine Skinner

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How Now Brown Cow, creators of acclaimed productions such as My Name is Lucy Barton, Expelled and Constellations, presents the South African premiere of Tony and Olivier Award-winning gripping legal drama PRIMA FACIE. It will be performed at The Baxter Studio from 4 to 29 August 2026, before transferring to the Barney Simon at the Market Theatre from 17 September until 4 October 2026.

Written by Suzie Miller, 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: 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.

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. 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.

Neil Coppen is a renowned and prolific storyteller and theatre-maker who has won several major awards for his writing, design and direction work including Standard Bank Ovation Awards, Naledi’s, Fiesta and Kanna Awards, the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Drama 2011 and the 2019 Olive Schreiner Prize for Drama. Most recently, he won the Cape Town Theatre Award (formerly Fleur du Cap Theatre Award) for Best Director and, with Mpume Mthombeni, Best New South African Script, for Isidlamlilo/The Fire Eater, which won awards in all seven categories in which the production was nominated.

Danica De La Rey Jones is a magnetic force in the South African film industry. With over a decade of industry experience, she has built a career defined by high-stakes performances and an unflinching emotional range. She has been seen on screen in the lead role of the action feature Hunting Jessica Brok, which secured a 100-cinema North American release alongside UK and European distribution. Other roles include the complex villain "TK" in Netflix’s Unseen (Season 2) while on stage she has captivated audiences in productions such as James Ngcobo’s For Colored Girls.

“PRIMA FACIE is a compelling, incisive  theatrical drama,” says How Now Brown Cow producer Julie-Anne McDowell. “Danica is known for her magnetic, powerful presence on screen and we can’t wait to see her transfer that to thrill theatre audiences in Prima Facie.” 

PRIMA FACIE will be presented at The Baxter Studio from 4 to 29 August 2026 before How Now Brown Cow in association with the Market Theatre transfers the production to Johannesburg for a run from 17 September to 4 October 2026. Tickets can be booked online through Webtickets. The show runs at 75 minutes (no interval) and carries an age restriction of 14. Content warning: Expect strong references to sexual assault, violence, and potentially triggering content.