Prima Facie

Part One

Scene One: Thoroughbreds

Tessa describes the experience of being a defense barrister in a courtroom. She vividly describes how all the lawyers are poised and ready, like horses at the start of a race. She then details how approaches the prosecution’s witness, letting them think that they have the upper-hand and she is simply a dumb, female lawyer. However, once she has let their confidence spill over, she swiftly turns on them to trap them with their own admissions. It is a well-practiced routine and one that the other lawyers and the judge have seen played out many times. As Tessa says, it’s not emotional but instead it’s “the game of law”, and it’s a game she relishes.

Scene Two: The Oher Me

Tessa now lets us into the other side of her life - her family and working-class background. She describes traveling home to Liverpool on the train to visit her mother. When she goes home, she’s not a big-shot lawyer, simply a daughter trying to support her family who don’t understand