Wendy Vasquez Larrain has taken the stage at Lima's Teatro La Plaza as the sole star of Prima Facie, opening the Peruvian run of the acclaimed legal drama to an audience that sat in silence with their eyes fixed on her for an hour and a half, without a murmur or a ringing telephone.
The 90-minute solo show follows Tessa, a lawyer who makes her living defending people accused of rape, until her own world collapses and she discovers firsthand the flaws in a justice system she previously thought was efficient.
Suzie Miller, an Australian playwright and former lawyer, debuted the work in 2019. The play has since conquered stages worldwide, most notably featuring Jodie Comer in West End and Broadway productions that included music, multiple costume changes and rain on stage.
Stripped back staging
Director Juan Carlos Fisher has opted for a starkly different, minimalist approach for the La Plaza production. The stage features scant props: just a table, a chair, and neon lights outlining a transparent box that serves simultaneously as a bedroom, office, kitchen, courtroom and taxi.
This austerity ensures the audience's attention falls squarely on the actor, while the lighting design does its part to oppress her character.
Fisher told El Comercio that he had felt he had to adapt the story since first reading the script years ago. He said the power of the text came from having the actor telling and living the story with the audience, and that any other elements would only have been a distraction.
The director, who has already staged a version of the play in Spain, said it was exciting to see the production being mounted all over the world and generating such a reaction. He added that the experience was made even better by working with one of the best actors in Peru.
Vasquez Larrain, who was born in Lima in 1978, said she and Fisher had known each other for many years and had collaborated many times.
Physical and emotional demands
The role requires Vasquez Larrain to carry the entire piece alone, performing a routine that ranges from standing on a table for a little dance to moments where she breaks down, doubts and fades due to everything bad happening to Tessa.
The actor said the role was very demanding on many levels, explaining that she sometimes felt like an athlete due to the physical requirements, and that it was also emotionally mobilising.
Despite the emotional and physical toll of the performance, Vasquez Larrain said she felt fine. She said she considered the work a privilege and felt very grateful to be doing it, adding that it was a luxury to have such demanding projects that provided spaces for growth.
Fisher said he did not doubt that the actor would finish performances emotionally exhausted, but noted that the beautiful thing was that they made theatre because they loved it and liked telling stories.
Putting the system on trial
The play builds to a verdict, effectively placing the audience in the role of the jury. It deconstructs the holes in a legal framework supposed to protect women, forcing viewers to question whom the justice system is truly made for, because it is not for the victim.
The production runs from Wednesday to Sunday at the Teatro La Plaza in the Larcomar shopping centre, with tickets available through Joinnus.
