Prima Facie (NHB Modern Plays)
Suzie Miller
- 104 pagine
- English
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Prima Facie (NHB Modern Plays)
Suzie Miller
Informazioni sul libro
Tessa is a young, brilliant barrister. She has worked her way up from working-class origins to the top of her game: defending, cross-examining and winning.
But an unexpected event forces her to confront the patriarchal power of the law, where the burden of proof and morality diverge.
Prima Facie by Suzie Miller is an award-winning play for a solo actor, taking us deep into a world where emotion and integrity are in conflict with the rules of the game.
After several acclaimed productions in Australia and winning the Australian Writers' Guild Award for Drama, the play received its European premiere at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London's West End in April 2022. It was produced by Empire Street Productions, directed by Justin Martin, and starred Jodie Comer, the Emmy and Bafta Award-winning star of TV's Killing Eve, making her West End debut.
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Informazioni
Every single one.
Every muscle pumped
trained and ready for the sprint.
Hold back.
Keep the blood
at just the right temperature.
then…
‘all stand’,
out of the stalls.
Push forward.
when to find an opening.
Ready to jump when the other side falters.
Poised.
Watching, waiting.
mind operating on ten tracks at once.
Muscles
tightly wound,
waiting to spring.
It’s starting to open up,
wait.
Wait.
This is the measure of your skill set,
the calm before.
Instinct pushes me forward.
Eyes
zooming in on me.
Yesss.
big guy,
looks stunned.
Doesn’t quite know I’ve won a point,
but he feels the shift.
Likes it.
My client hates the witness,
but for me,
the witness is just
‘the witness’.
The prosecution finishes.
Then it’s time.
The witness is mine!
The witness breathes in.
I stand up,
slowly, do up the button on my jacket.
Courtroom silent,
charged,
waiting for moi.
cooool.
Voice,
measured.
confident.
Play it.
Play it,
it’s yours.
[You’re holding it in the palm of your hand.]
Play with it.
Stretch it out,
it’s yours.
It’s the best part.
All instinct.
Repeat the answer;
repeat it again.
Watch his face,
let him think I’m getting mixed up;
let him think I’ve lost my way.
A snicker from prosecution counsel.
Good.
Very good.
flick through papers.
My client shifts uncomfortably in the dock.
Good.
Then I repeat the question,
watch the witness relax.
Shoulders move back;
‘This one doesn’t seem to know what she’s doing.’
seen the likes of me.
Question two.
This emboldens him.
here he goes.
over talk.
Let him ‘clarify’.
‘Thanks for that, I wasn’t sure…’
‘This one must be straight out of uni or something;
she’s not that good.’
Huh!
He’s got the upper hand
not afraid
no longer
vigilant.
I let him explain it to me.
Nodding.
I’m nodding.
He digs himself in deeper.
He volunteers more information.
put a finger to his own forehead.
And I know.
nodding approval.
‘Oh I see, but why did that happen?’
but the judge knows.
No one can help him.
And he
swims right into it.
flash of confidence across his face.
feel his control.
Feel SAFE.
tiptoe.
Circle again.
flick through some pages.
They know,
they cringe for him.
But they love it, they lean forward.
no idea.
And him, in the witness box,
the one I am talking to,
no clue.
Still.
No. Fucking. Clue.
I hope you don’t mind – it will help me get the full picture’ /
Perfect.
the guy who’s turning his head down to the table.
He night know
he might sense.
If he wasn’t so sure, so cocky,
he’d feel it.
Danger.
But nup, he’s in his element.
Thinks he is the cat
and I am the mouse.
[Perfect.]
Stop paper shuffling.
Look right at the witness.
he glances quickly to the prosecutor.
Prosecutor can’t say anything,
but his eyes,
the prosecutor’s eyes are straining, trying to say:
‘Don’t.
Don’t.
Keep your wits about you.
Don’t fall into this trap.’
my last circle.
Then,
Bang.
Bang.
Bang bang.
shock.
And the look I get;
dawning.
You thought you had this.
The people in the gallery lean forward;
Imitates them with glee.
She’s good.’
is awestruck.
My eyes are on the witness’s face.
Now for the first time he actually sees me.
‘Answer the question please Mr Bateman.’
Professional.
It’s all over now,
he knows it,
I know it,
the judge knows it,
and the witness is about to really know it.
Sweetest voice ever.
The judge reminds Mr Bateman that he must answer the question.
‘Answer counsel’s question please Mr Bateman.’
at me.
He is fucked.
His head is down,
he mumbles something.