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originally published: 06/19/2022

(NEW YORK, NY) -- Emmy and BAFTA Award-winning actress Jodie Comer (BBC America’s “Killing Eve”) will make her Broadway debut in Prima Facie, a new play by Suzie Miller, directed by Justin Martin (The Jungle at St. Ann’s Warehouse). The production, which is in the final two weeks of a sold out run in the West End, will come to Broadway for a limited engagement in Spring 2023 at a Shubert theatre to be announced. Prima Facie is produced by Empire Street Productions.  

Jodie Comer said, “It has been an absolute privilege to tell Tessa’s story here in London over the past few weeks and to now have the opportunity to take Prima Facie to Broadway is a dream come true.” 

Comer recently made her West End debut in Prima Facie, earning rave reviews for her astonishing performance as Tessa in Miller’s award-winning solo play. The production opened April 27 at the Harold Pinter Theatre, where it plays through June 18. It features an original score by Rebecca Lucy Taylor, who is better known as Self Esteem, and who completed her debut US Tour earlier this year. 

Jodie Comer in the West End production of Prima Facie. © Helen Murray 

Miller is a former human rights and children’s rights lawyer. Prima Facie originally premiered in 2019 in Sydney, Australia, where it won the 2020 Australian Writers’ Guild Award for Drama, the 2020 David Williamson Award for Outstanding Theatre Writing, and the 2020 prestigious Major Australian Writers’ Guild Award across all categories of theatre, film, and television. 

Set and costume designer is Miriam Buether. Lighting designer is Natasha Chivers. Sound designers are Ben & Max Ringham. Composer is Rebecca Lucy Taylor. Video is by William Williams for Treatment Studio. US general management is by 101 Productions Ltd.  

 

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Theatre, opening night and on sale dates will be announced in coming weeks. To sign up for more information go to: www.primafacieplay.com/broadway

Jodie Comer (Tessa). Jodie rose to prominence in “My Mad Fat Diary,” “Lady Chatterley’s Lover,” and “Doctor Foster.” She was named a Screen International Star of Tomorrow in 2016. In the same year she received her first BAFTA TV nomination for her lead role in “Thirteen.” In 2017, she played the title role in “The White Princess.” In 2019, for her role in “Killing Eve,” Jodie won the Leading Actress award at the BAFTA TV Awards, the Primetime Emmys, the Royal Television Society Awards and the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards. More recently she has starred with Ryan Reynolds in Free Guy, in Ridley Scott’s, The Last Duel, alongside Matt Damon and Adam Driver, and executive produced and starred in “Help,” winning the Leading Actress BAFTA for her performance. Jodie is currently making her stage debut in the UK premiere of Prime Facie at the Harold Pinter Theatre to huge critical acclaim. Following this, she will star in the feature film The End We Start From, by Alice Birch from the acclaimed novel by Megan Hunter.

Suzie Miller (Playwright) is a contemporary international playwright, librettist and screenwriter drawn to complex human stories often exploring injustice. She won the Australian Writers’ Guild and Kit Denton Fellowship for Writing with Courage in 2008. Born in Melbourne, she now resides between London and Sydney. Miller has been produced around the world winning multiple prestigious awards. Prima Facie(premiered 2019, Griffin Theatre) won the 2020 Australian Writers’ Guild Award for Drama; the 2020 David Williamson Award for Outstanding Theatre Writing; and the 2020 prestigious Major Australian Writers’ Guild Award across all categories of theatre, film, and television. Its premier production earned five-star reviews across all platforms. Suzie has a background in law and science, and is currently developing major theatre, film and television projects across the UK, US, and Australia. Suzie worked as a human rights lawyer and a children’s rights lawyer before leaving the law and moving to London in 2010 with her young family to pursue a theatre writing career full time. 

Justin Martin (Director) is an award-winning director working in theatre, film and television. He has worked throughout North America, Europe and Australasia. Most recently, Justin co-directed with Stephen Daldry the critically acclaimed Together for BBC films (starring James McAvoy and Sharon Horgan). He is also currently developing a film adaptation of the hit play The Jungle for the BBC. His critically acclaimed production of The Jungle (A Young Vic/National Theatre co-production) most recently played in San Francisco, following sell-out seasons at St Ann’s Warehouse in New York, in the West End and at The Young Vic. The show garnered awards including an Obie, a Southbank Sky Arts Award and a Broadway World Award for Best Direction. Justin’s critically acclaimed production of Low Level Panic sold out twice at the Galway Theatre Festival before touring throughout Ireland and to a sell-out season in Australia.  He was an associate director on Billy Elliot the Musical working on Broadway, throughout North America, South Korea, Amsterdam, and Australia. Other screen credits include work on seasons 1 and 2 of the award-winning Netflix series The Crown and on hugely successful NT Live performances of Skylight and The Audience. Justin is an associate artist with Good Chance Theatre - a company dedicated to making work with and about refugees. He has directed a number of works for them, including most recently working on a number of promos for The Walk - a theatre festival spanning 8000km from The Syrian border to Manchester. He was the inaugural recipient of the Roger Leach Award for Theatre. Justin continues to develop work with some of the world’s most renowned theatre, film, and television companies. He is attached to direct new plays in London, Sydney, and New York when COVID 19 abates. He is also currently developing film and television projects in the UK, US, and Australia.

Empire Street Productions (Producer) was set up by James Bierman to develop and produce work across theatre, television, and film. Recent Theatre credits include Macbeth starring Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga on Broadway; Sam Shepard’s True West starring Kit Harington and Johnny Flynn at the Vaudeville Theatre; Tracy Letts’ Killer Joe at the Trafalgar Studio starring Orlando Bloom; with new dates for the postponed Martin McDonagh's iconic The Pillowman, directed by Matthew Dunster to come.  Ballywater, a BFI, Screen Ireland and NIS supported feature film by Stacey Gregg and directed by Prasanna Puwanarajah is in post-production. Documentary The Real Charlie Chaplin, directed by Peter Middleton & James Spinney is on release. ESP are currently developing Film and  Television projects with Filmnation, Anonymous Content and Content Superba. As Executive Producer at the Donmar Warehouse (200611), Bierman was involved in over 45 productions which won numerous awards including Tony, Drama Desk, Olivier, Evening Standard, Critics’ Circle and South Bank Awards including John Logan’s RED starring Eddie Redmayne and Alfred Molina; Frost Nixon starring Michael Sheen and Frank Langella; Mary Stuart starring Harriet Walter and Janet McTeer ; and Hamlet starring Jude Law. As a producer at the Michael Grandage Company (MGC), which he founded with Grandage in 2011, he produced a hugely successful season of work at the Noel Coward Theatre, in London’s West End: Privates on Parade starring Simon Russell Beale, A Midsummer Night’s Dream starring Sheridan Smith and David Walliams, Peter and Alice starring Dame Judi Dench and Ben Whishaw, Henry V starring Jude Law, and The Cripple of Inishmaan starring Daniel Radcliffe, which went on to play the Cort Theater on Broadway. Following on from the success of this season, he produced Photograph 51 starring Nicole Kidman, and The Dazzle with Emily Dobbs, starring Andrew Scott. Bierman’s first feature film, Genius, written by Academy Award nominee John Logan and starring Colin Firth, Jude Law, Nicole Kidman and Laura Linney, premiered in competition at the Berlin Film Festival in 2016.