In Suzie Miller's monologue, brought to the stage by Melissa Vettore and directed by Daniele Finzi Pasca, the story of Tessa, a lawyer who has often represented rapists in the courtroom, is transformed into a powerful indictment of the distortions of the justice system. When the protagonist becomes a victim of sexual violence, her denunciation is not only personal: it is a political gesture, a crack that opens in the language of justice. The play, a national premiere, opened the season of Rome's Sala Umberto. Tour dates.
By Rosalba Panzieri
"All I know is that somewhere. At some point. Somehow. Something has to change." With these words ends "Prima Facie," the play that enraptured the senses of the audience at Rome's Sala Umberto Theater for two hours without interruption. Performed by a magnetic Melissa Vettore, the monologue tells the story of Tessa, the rampant rapists' lawyer, who suffers sexual assault and the same judicial violence she used to reserve for victims. Tessa, torn between her own past as a lawyer and her present as a victim, lucidly analyzes the dissonance between formal law and substantive justice.
A necessary monologue for all
The monologue, based on Suzi Miller's best-selling book, tackles with intensity and sensitivity issues that are more urgent than ever today: gender-based violence, consent, and the language of power, highlighting the gap that often separates formal justice from that which is actually experienced. The victim undergoes pressing interrogations, which become a second violence, to investigate whether the denial to rape was explicit and clear. Courtrooms sift through victims and their dignity, discuss clothing, use or non-use of alcohol and substances, relationship with the attacker. Many do not hold up, do not report. If the abuser is a family member, the women themselves have a harder time perceiving themselves as victims. But no is no. Sexual consent is not a once-and-for-all right if there is a relationship between abused and abuser. "We need to teach that no is no," says director Daniele Finzi Pasca, "starting from this we can rebuild a different society. This aspect, unfortunately, is not anchored in learning the fundamentals of the relationship between human beings. We humans need to learn delicacy. In order not to hurt, it is necessary to be delicate."
At a historical moment when the debate on gender equality, justice and victims' rights is at the center of the public agenda, Prima Facie stands out as a necessary work, capable of generating profound reflections, becoming an invitation to act as an active part of concrete change. With exclusive rights to the Italian version, Compagnia Finzi Pasca offers a staging faithful to its unmistakable poetics, immersed in dreamlike atmospheres and able to surprise and excite.
Melissa Vettore's grandactorial rehearsal
Melissa Vettore dominates the stage with a magnetic presence and body mastery that transforms every gesture into dramaturgical language.
The actress' expressive pliability manifests itself in her ability to move naturally from the wounded rationality of the advocate to the vulnerability of the abused woman, without ever falling into didacticism. Every transition is organic, every variation in tone and rhythm is functional in building dramatic tension that gives the viewer no respite. Vettore works on the text with surgical precision, restoring its ethical and psychological layers through a skillful use of stage time, always pressing, and space. The body is a narrative tool: contained, then exploded, then restrained again, in a physical score that accompanies and amplifies the word. Its intensity is never shouted, but etched. It interrogates the viewer without rhetoric. In this monologue, Carrier does not play, but inhabits Tessa. And in doing so, she forces us to look, to feel, to think. "We women have to listen to our needs," says leading lady Melissa Vettore, "and not be afraid to express what we want. I think women and men need to dialogue more. We are all fragile in the face of feelings, and being able to voice what we feel can create new dynamics. You really win if there is no violence to report."
Story of a planetary success
Translated into 20 languages and performed in 38 countries, Prima Facie has become a global phenomenon, sparking debates everywhere about the need for a justice system more sensitive to the needs of victims of sexual offenses. A broad movement of opinion developed around the play, contributing to legislative changes in the UK and bringing author Suzie Miller to the UN to address the legal rights of victims of sexual abuse and harassment. The first version of the play premiered in Sydney in 2019. In April 2022 it was staged in London, winning two Laurence Olivier Awards. It subsequently debuted on Broadway. Today it is performed worldwide, with different actresses playing the role of the lawyer Tessa. Prima Facie encourages women to share their experiences, helping to create a support network and stimulating society to think about new perspectives in the legal field.
Tour dates
The show will come to Milan at Teatro Franco Parenti on Nov. 25 (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) where it will stay until the 30th. On Dec. 14 it will go to Assisi at Teatro Lyrick. From March 6 to 8, 2026 it will be in Lugano at the LAC, March 26 and 27 in Turin at the Teatro Colosseo, and on March 31 it will come to the Teatro Verdi in Padua.
Italian 
Albanian 
English