At first sight

“The Game of Laws” is a strategy that successful criminal defense attorney Tessa Ensler skillfully employs on behalf of her clients. She defends men accused of sexual assault and navigates the complex web of legal provisions, power, and social perception with apparent ease. But the cards are reshuffled when she takes the stand. She is now herself a victim of sexual violence. The crime was committed by a colleague and forces her to experience the legal system from the other side.

The full-length monologue by Australian playwright Suzie Miller has garnered international attention since its English premiere in 2019, has been performed on Broadway, and won the Olivier Award in 2023. Miller herself worked as a lawyer for many years and knows the inner workings of the legal system firsthand. With *Prima Facie*, she takes up a legal term meaning “at first glance”: a case is judged based on its superficial assessment until further evidence is presented. It is often applied in the handling of sexual offenses.

From a confident defense attorney to a victim, from legal discourse to personal experience, the perspective shifts radically. In the process, a legal system is revealed that claims objectivity but is marked by structural gaps. Prima Facie is not just a play about the law, but about power, perception, and the fragile balance between justice and reality.

As an acclaimed international success, Prima Facie is now also taking the courtroom of the Innsbruck Regional Court by storm. Reality and narrative merge impressively, once again highlighting the urgency of societal debates on law and justice.