Cynthia Erivo to Star in Prima Facie Film Adaptation

According to a Variety report, Tony Award winner Cynthia Erivo will star and executive produce a film adaptation of Prima Facie. The solo stage play is written by Suzie Miller and is currently running on Broadway at the Golden Theatre starring Jodie Comer (Killing Eve). Miller will adapt her play for the screen, with BAFTA winner and Emmy nominee Susanna White set to direct.

Prima Facie tells the story of Tessa, a young barrister who is forced to confront the power of the law and the burden of proof following a sexual assault. The play earned the 2020 Australian Writers’ Guild Award for Drama for its 2019 premiere production in Sydney, and went on to have a hit West End run, where it earned 2023 Olivier Awards for Best New Play and Best Actress (Comer).

Erivo won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performances as Celie in the Broadway revival of The Color Purple. She later led the biographical film Harriet about abolitionist Harriet Tubman, earning two Academy Award nominations for Best Actress and Best Original Song (“Stand Up”). She is currently set to star as Elphaba in the two-part film adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked.