A harrowing look into how Australia’s legal system treats women during a sexual assault and harassment trials, Prima Facie has been adapted for both West End and Broadway. The play returns with its original production to The Q – Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre for one night only on Wednesday 19 April.

Running since 2019, Prima Facie tells the story of Tessa, a top criminal lawyer who has a high success rate defending men charged with sexual assault. She believes the justice system is one that works, until she herself experiences the system as a victim. From the other side, Tessa begins to see the flaws in the system and that sometimes things are more than black and white.

“She has an infallible belief that the system that she has been trained to work in is the only way it can happen. Even if she isn’t entirely sure that the man is innocent, that’s not her job,” says actress, Sheridan Harbridge.

Harbridge has played Tessa over 160 times, and prepared for the role by sitting through trials and observing the way lawyers dealt with cases. She also read Bri Lee’s memoir, Eggshell Skull, which tells her story of going into the system after a career in law. She believes the writer, Suzie Miller, has made it a very reflective portrayal, unfortunately, of what women go through.

“She didn’t want to sensationalise anything. She didn’t want anyone to sit in the audience and say, ‘Well, this is fiction’,” Harbridge says.

With only a one in nine chance of conviction, Harbridge understands why many women struggle to come forward after experiencing sexual assault. She says the process can be a traumatic one to go through, with their whole lives being questioned, down to the underwear they were wearing on the day in question.

Hoping to inspire a conversation of how we can do this better, Harbridge loves when lawyers come to the show and the discussions that ensue. Also, people who have had their lives impacted by sexual assault see their experiences validated on stage. According to the actress, the show is about hope.

“It’s about the fact that we as a society made up the law, so we can remake it, to start actually serving justice,” she says.

See Prima Facie at The Q, Queanbeyan, 19 April 7.30pm; theq.net.au