Cynthia Erivo Takes Over 'Prima Facie' in Susanna White's Film — SkimNews
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- Susanna White directed the film adaptation of Suzie Miller's 'Prima Facie,' a one-woman play that won both Olivier and Tony awards and has been staged in 52 countries and translated into over a dozen languages.
- Cynthia Erivo replaced Jodie Comer as high-powered barrister Tessa Ensler, with White saying she cast Erivo after seeing her emotional depth in 'Harriet'; making Tessa a Black woman in a predominantly white legal world added race as a new layer that Miller wrote into the screenplay based on Erivo's input.
- White anchored the film's realism by casting two real policemen in the police station assault scene, using real medical staff at the sexual assault clinic, and shadowing barristers and observing actual jurors in court to inform casting and performances.
- Daniel Ings plays Tessa's romantic interest Julian, with White deliberately staging the first act like a romantic comedy so the audience invests in the relationship before the assault turns the story; White hired intimacy coordinator Lizzy Talbot for the sex and assault sequences.
- The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, and White said audience reactions have been deeply emotional, with the aim of sparking post-screening conversations about the legal system's treatment of sexual assault victims.
Why it matters: Casting Cynthia Erivo rather than restaging Jodie Comer's Tony-winning turn transforms a solo stage piece about legal-system failure into a racially layered film, broadening who the story speaks to across its 52-country footprint and giving Miller material to revise the screenplay around Erivo's lived experience.
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