National Theatre Live: Prima Facie

I saw this last night as a cinema screening of the live stage performance - my overriding feeling, the following morning is one of awe at the acting talen of Jodie Comer.

Others will write better, fuller reviews of the play, the story, the points it raises, but without giving away any spoilers, I just wanted to say this performance has to be one of the more impressive I've ever seen. 2 hours, almost non stop of Jodie talking to the audience, creating various scenes and characters, taking you on a journey, all whilst standing on a stage with just a few props.

The production is very cleverly done and allows Jodie's character to move between events with elegance and fluidity. It is the perfect platform for Jodie to show her acting talent and range - I am sure many, like I was, will be surprised at just what a strong actress she is - it's the sort of performance you might imagine from the British acting elite like Dame Judy Dench et al, not someone so young. If this is an indication of where she might develop her skills, the sky truly is the limit for Jodie.

Obviously the story covers very important and powerful points and if you watch this and aren't left thinking and discussing with friends and family afterwards, I'll be very srurprised.

It's a shamre that more people won't get to see this performance - I only wish I had been in the actual theatre to see it rather than on screen, as I can only imagine how charged the atmosphere must have been when actually in the room. People applauded at the end even in the cinema - in my experience, in this country, that doesn't happen very often at the cinema - so you can take that as a benchmark for how good this is.

I had heard it was incredible by people who had seen it live so my expectations were high. Nothing prepared me for what I saw though. Quite simply it was the best performance I have ever seen. Comer is beyond brilliant in this and fills every single second of the play with joy, pain, doubt, guilt, horror. My first reaction after leaving the theatre is - how could she put that much energy into the performance night after night on stage? The effort she put in exhausted us just watching. You will never see a better performance, ever- unless she does something else that tops even this.

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.

Jodie Comer's talent is preternatural. I don't think the industry is even ready for it 😳. Olivier Award must be pending at this point with Tony Award on the cards and Jodie Comer deserves it all. The play was just as brilliant on the silver screen, the editing and direction for camera on point and I was probably even more stunned this time round. Emotive, visceral, poignant, chastening, fearless, faultless, mesmerising, vivid, vigorous, breathtaking because well Jodie Comer. All stars have aligned with this play; production, set design, music composition, and are revolving around Jodie. The impact it's having, and in particular on the 1 in 3, is profound. It's probably the single most important piece of art produced in theatre for some time. Broadway has no excuse to not to be enamoured with it when it heads there.

Jodie Comer is probably the best actress working today. She commands you to pay attention to what she's saying, successfully forcing me to enjoy learning about legal terminology before tearing my heart out and branding it with the message of the story.

Jodie Comer's performance is stunning, captivating and Oscar worthy. Though it is a one woman show, she switches between so many characters with such ease and class that is suspends the audience's disbelief fully. There was not a dry eye in the entire cinema by the end and I've personally still not fully processed just how hard hitting and emotional the message of Prima Facie is.

In Tessa's words, 'in the face of it, something has to change'. And it does. I cannot recommend watching it enough.