Prima Facie – Review – York Grand Opera House
By Roger Crow, February 2026
Jodie Comer, in case you didn’t know it, is a phenomenon. She proved that in Killing Eve, the cult BBC comedy drama from a few years ago in which she played psychopath assassin Villenelle. I can only imagine the magic she conjured up for cameras on the day. But of course that was with the benefit of breaks. Little bursts of magic created for specific scenes. In a one-woman stage show? That’s a very different thing. A marathon instead of a series of sprints. And when the buzz started emerging from London about Prima Facie, her drama about a lawyer, when I get one of those inbox messages that she’s doing the same thing in York, I have a Pavlovian response. ‘Get tickets’. That simple. And that’s the power of one actor, like it was with Gary Oldman and his stunning York turn in Krapp’s Last Tape in 2025.
And between that point almost a year ago when I spend an hour in a queue waiting to get said tickets, and when I finally see the show, I still know nothing about the plot. Jodie Comer has that power to attract punters who would probably see her read the phone book for 100 minutes, and they would simply have the same response. ‘Where? When? Need tickets’.
Of course, Prima Facie is not the phone book, though the volume of dialogue is as dense as all those numbers. Oldman’s performance was a masterpiece of minimalism; barely any dialogue at times. Comer’s is the opposite. Solid dialogue for the bulk of the running time. In a variety of accents. And that set is amazing. Volumes of legal binders and a couple of tables and a few chairs. She shifts them around at various stages, while dispensing vast swathes of dialogue.
“One of the greatest performances”
And she dominates every part of the stage, opening with a bravura scene as Tessa, the whip-smart lawyer who reveals the secrets of her trade. It’s just two stories being told from two sides of an event. “Does the prosecution believe the accused? Who cares?” That’s the job. A ‘joke’ teller who doesn’t care about the ramifications of the punchline. Doesn’t care about what effect it will have on a possibly innocent person. Their job is to round up that one sheep and herd them into that truck which may transport them to a green valley or a slaughterhouse. Not that the truck element is their concern. They’re only bothered about the sheep’s direction. Clumsy metaphor? Fair enough. ‘Mea culpa’. Yes, one of the things I do recall from my legal training decades ago when it was designed to make me a better writer. Throw in a bit of Latin and it works wonders with legal dramas. And I don’t know until now what that title means. “Based on the first impression; accepted as correct until proved otherwise.” And yes, that is a very clever title. Suzie Miller’s one-‘women’ play, as the website reveals, has garnered awards aplenty, and little wonder.
As a side note, when director Jeff Nichols was casting his movie The Bikeriders, he’d never seen Killing Eve, so he went to see Prima Facie, and he pretty much cast Comer on the spot.
And at this point you may be wondering, ‘So what happens? Well, Tessa reveals how she does her job; there are flashbacks to her early training days, and an incident which changes her life forever. And the rest you’ll have to find out for yourself. What I can tell you is it’s one of the greatest performances I’ve seen on stage, and directed by Justin Miller, who directed one of my favourite stage shows, Stranger Things: The First Shadow.
“Astonishing”
If you are lucky enough to get tickets, prepare to be amazed, and be put through the wringer. I compare the packed audience filing out of the theatre to leaving a funeral. Not in a bad way, but just emotionally drained. I can only imagine how Jodie Comer must feel, having performed that exhausting show so many times. And the latest attracts the inevitable standing ovation. I could have stood there for an hour clapping, and it wouldn’t have been enough.
By chance I saw Rebecca Lucy Taylor’s standout performances on Jools Holland’s show a few days earlier and had no idea Self Esteem also composed the breathtaking score.
Prima Facie will probably live with me for years to come, like all good theatre does. If you want a show which will leave you wanting to punch the air, spoiler alert: This isn’t it. But it it is an astonishing piece of work featuring one of the world’s greatest actors, and its message is like a sledgehammer. And no, I’ll not reveal that either. Buy a ticket. See the show, and then spend the next few days unpacking what you’ve seen.
‘Prima Facie’ is at York Grand Opera House until 21st February
Roger Crow bought his own ticket for ‘Prima Facie’ and the review is entirely his own, with no affiliation to Grand Opera House York.
Please note – Prima Facie is completely sold out at Grand Opera House York. Should any returns become available, they shall be released on atgtickets.com/york. There is no waitlist. For ticket resales, please refer to trusted partner, Twickets – the official UK resale partner.
Adopted Yorkshireman Roger Crow developed a passion for film and TV in the 1970s and 1980s. He has been a published film and TV reviewer since the 1990s; a world travel and restaurant critic since the noughties, and for the past decade has assessed the pros and cons of live gigs and theatre productions around the UK. His ideal day would involve reviewing a performance of Bat Out of Hell, followed by a Pad Thai while being serenaded by Texas on a cruise around Europe.
crowsfeat.com; nostalgiahhh film podcast
