How Now Brown Cow, the award-winning South African theatre company, continues their season of winter productions with Prima Facie, a dramatic one-woman play about the failures of the justice system and its use as a tool to further misogyny and sexism – brought to South Africa for the very first time.
Prima Facie is the latest international work brought to life by How Now Brown Cow, with June’s staging of Constellations receiving rave reviews throughout its run. Prima Facie presents something very different, swapping a time-warping exploration of love for a thorough and unapologetic examination of sexual assault and its effect on victims.
The original play, written by Suzie Miller, received numerous accolades during its initial runs in London and New York, winning Best New Play at the Laurence Olivier Awards and earning Jodie Comer a Tony for her performance on Broadway. The story follows Tessa, a British lawyer who, after a lifetime of defending those accused of sexual assault, has her entire life thrown into turmoil after being sexually assaulted herself.
In 2026, the role is performed by Danica De La Rey Jones, known for her roles in Netflix’s Unseen and James Ngcobo’s For Colored Girls, who brings the emotional range and physical performance needed to captivate audiences in Prima Facie. The production is directed by Neil Coppen, a veteran storyteller who has won almost everything there is to win in South African theatre, from Naledi Awards to Standard Bank Ovation Awards, for his writing and design work. Coppen sold out shows with his adaptation of Animal Farm in 2015, and co-wrote and directed the local hit Isidlamlilo/The Fire Eater, which recently won seven Cape Town Theatre Awards and is touring internationally.
Prima Facie is a hard-hitting, eye-opening look at patriarchal power structures and how victims of sexual assault are often undermined, disrespected, and disregarded. Given South Africa’s ongoing pandemic of gender-based violence and femicide, the play is an important work for local audiences to view and understand – with its heavy themes being relevant regardless of where it is staged. Viewers are warned that the story contains distressing and potentially triggering material.
Book tickets to Prima Facie
Early viewings are selling out quickly. Interested parties are encouraged to secure their seats to watch the award-winning play’s limited Cape Town run.
Cost: R250 per person. Book now on Webtickets.
When: 4 – 29 August 2026 | From 8pm | Saturday matinee from 3pm
Where: Baxter Studio (Baxter Theatre Centre), cnr Burg & Main Rds, Rondebosch, Cape Town
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: @HowNowBrownCow
Instagram: @HowNowBrownCow_Productions
Watch award-winning stage shows in Cape Town this season
