Prima Facie - Harold Pinter / Cinema Broadcast

I wouldn't know because, like many others, I haven't been able to get tickets. I'd rather see it and take my chances even if it was at Wembley Stadium.

Given it's a commercial production, the chances it would transfer to the National which already has a full slate of shows are zilch. 

It depends on the show. Derren Brown or Jason Manford can sell a huge theatre but often they only play for a night or a week on tour so it's more out of necessity whereas Prima Facie, a play would just be lost in a 2000 seat theatre. 

I keep checking the site to see if any tickets go back up for sale. Sometimes one of the perfs goes from sold out to 'low' availability, but when you click through there's nothing left. Any idea why?

I found this a lot a few weeks back. One day I refreshed the seating plan page for the day I wanted literally every few mins for several hours and I eventually struck gold. You’ve either got to be lucky when you check or doggedly persistent but it’s definitely doable.

Imagine that it's just the calendar taking its time to update after the sale. When I was searching, I recall the calendar sometimes taking a while to update back to showing no availability. Hope you can get a ticket. I think if you're flexible about dates and the price, and of course committed to refreshing, you might just manage it!

Interesting to see that there's a notice for 14 June (I assume this is the date you're talking about?) saying that the performance is being filmed. What with the NT trailer already being out there, I had thought they'd already filmed it. I do hope the version which goes to cinema is one with an audience because so much of the energy (unsurprisingly for a one woman show) came from her engaging with and feeding off the audience.

You could also put her on a boat and get her to perform it in the middle of the English Channel.

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

No one who’s seen this production would be saying to put it in a theatre as big as the Olivier.

I went to see today’s matinee. I have seen many amazing performances over the years, many of which I have documented on here - Imelda Staunton in GYPSY, Denise Gough in PEOPLE, PLACES AND THINGS, Audra McDonald in LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR AND GRILL. Jodie Comer’s performance is up there with them all! What is even more astonishing is that this is her stage DEBUT. It is a staggering achievement!

I am a big fan of Jodie’s work, and this was my sole reason for booking tickets, as I imagine it is for the vast majority of people going to see this. I have loved her in KILLING EVE, as well as most of her other TV and film work (even FREE GUY), and I think that she is a real talent. What she does here is a completely different level. Hers is a performance that goes at break-neck speed from the get-go, grabs you by the throat, and doesn’t let you go until it’s very last moments. The 95 minutes absolutely flew by, and I was utterly transfixed by her the entire time.

The only thing I could say is that some of the quieter moments could have used even more stillness with pauses held for longer, but this is very slight.

I did not have the issues with the play that others have had. You really have to concentrate, otherwise you would get totally lost, but I actually found it to be extremely well-written, and loved how ideas recurred such as the ‘1 in 3’ idea that was used throughout. I also think it moved from humour to tragedy well. Sometimes this can be jarring, but I don’t think this was the case here. For example, the scene where she is being sick in the toilet is very funny, but then ultimately flips, and it is even more of a sucker-punch to the gut. It also incorporates explanations explanations of the legal jargon in a very organic way. The only issue I had was the speech at the end felt a little ‘preachy’, but was no less moving.

It broke my heart, and I cried for the vast majority of the second half - and when I say crying, I mean full on with tears streaming down my face, and trying to stop myself from shaking in my seat. This even went as far as weeping when Jodie put the pink shirt on for the court case near the end. Utterly ridiculous I know! I think this was due to how this same item of clothing had been used earlier on in the play.

I also enjoyed the staging, design and lighting. I particularly loved the rain effect towards the end of the first half, and found it extremely effective, as well as the lighting of case files at the very end of the play.

Overall, a performance by Jodie Comer that I will remember for a very long time to come, and I am very grateful that I have seen her live (the first of many times I hope). Go if you can in this final week - you will not regret it!

Saw last night's show - she must have amazing stamina to be able to deliver such a high energy performance twice in one day! However, I did feel the end of the play itself was weak. It's as if the writer lost confidence in their ability to tell it as story.

I saw this a few weeks ago and have been letting my thoughts crystallise. It's very good, I think primarily on the strength of Jodie Comer and the fairly frantic and energy-filled way the play is directed. I especially liked the subtle way she used her accent depending on what she was talking about or who she was with. The last moment of the play was especially beautiful. I keep coming back to the thought though that it was a little bit ham fisted towards the end. The themes and message of the play were so effectively conveyed before the last 10 minutes of the play, that when Jodie's character just starts telling the audience what the play is about and how she feels and what's wrong with the system it almost ruins it. Show, don't tell, as they say. It doesn't ruin it obviously, it's a subject that feels important and of-the-moment, it's a play that should be seen widely.

I was one of the mad people who queued up VERY early for a day (standing) ticket. I am not entirely sure it was wort it. While I thought Comer's performance excellent, the play itself is not that great. Agree with above comment that is has no nuance. It felt like going to a hugely successful Hollywood movie screening, where most people in the audience are loving it and you are sitting (or in my case, standing) there, wondering what all the raving is about and also feeling mildly annoyed that the writer thought the public too stupid to be able to understand, so everything is spelled out, just in case.
It felt like the final bit in particular is written to make audiences weep, but as if your hand is being held through it, just like a blockbuster film would do. Plus, I don't think a back of balcony, standing ticket should cost £15.
Saying all that, Comer is really amazing in this and I will go see this at the cinema, so at least I'll have a chance of a closer look at her performance.