INTER-ALIA
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ A blistering, vital work of theatre.
Interalia is a blistering, intelligent, and unflinching dissection of the gap between legal justice and moral justice in cases of rape. Much like Prima Facie, it interrogates a court system ill equipped to handle sexual assault trials where “innocent until proven guilty” collides with the near impossible task of proving rape without physical evidence, and where the law’s narrow definitions fail to capture the lived reality of consent.
Consent and Conditioning
The play explores the complexity of consent and the wider social conditioning around sex. Through Amy’s case, a girl who wanted sex but fell unconscious from drinking, it exposes the legal and moral tensions of situations where capacity is lost.
Jessica’s conversations with her son, in which she challenges pornography’s distorted portrayals of sex, confront society’s failure to teach men what real consent looks like. This theme is mirrored in her own marriage, when she fakes an orgasm because pretending is easier than refusing. It is a moment that underscores the play’s insistence that consent is not merely the absence of “no,” but the presence of an active, willing “yes.”
Mother and Judge
Jessica is torn between two roles she once thought were in conflict, protecting her son and protecting women, and realises they need not be mutually exclusive. By supporting her son’s moral conviction to go to the police and plead guilty, she fulfils her duty both as a mother and as a judge.
The public and private blur. To be a good mother is, in this moment, to be a good judge. The final image, Jessica chasing the yellow coat of her young son only to reveal Amy, the girl he raped, crystallises the play’s heart. Love and justice are not opposites, but painfully intertwined.
Rape Culture and Gender Politics
Interalia unfolds against the backdrop of rape culture, a society where sexual violence is normalised, excused, and sustained by unequal gender norms. Feminist theory argues that rape is rarely about lust; it is about power, entitlement, and socialisation. The play also brushes against online misogyny and incel ideology, showing how these forces ripple through both a courtroom and a family home.
Jessica discovers her son’s motivations are chilling in their banality. Not lust, but peer pressure, a desire to “fit in with the boys.” Entitlement becomes casual, even ordinary.
The Family Dynamic
Jessica’s husband emerges as a quietly corrosive force. Resentful of her career success and attributing it to “positive discrimination,” he undermines her authority both at home and in court. He refuses to have difficult conversations with his son, excusing himself with the claim that “times are different now.” The imbalance is stark. Jessica is told to “be a mother, not a judge,” while he is never asked to separate “father” from “defence lawyer.”
The Production
Director Justin Martin leads a production that is both imaginative and precise, with a staging that transforms seamlessly between courtrooms, homes, and private spaces.
The design team is exceptional. Miriam Buether’s set and costumes fluidly shift roles and environments, while Natasha Chivers’ lighting sculpts the atmosphere with striking clarity. Lucy Hind’s movement and intimacy direction lends authenticity to the most charged moments, ensuring physicality and vulnerability are handled with intelligence.
Music, composed by Erin LeCount and directed live by Nick Pinchbeck, adds a haunting texture. Performed by a father and son duo, the sound occasionally drowns out Jessica’s voice, a potent metaphor for women being silenced in male dominated spaces. Most memorably, the electric guitar becomes one of the most intelligent and visceral depictions of sex I have seen on stage. Jessica’s husband plucks the strings, wrapping himself around her body, while her mind is consumed by the screams of a rape victim. She fakes an orgasm, frantically joining his strumming before yanking out the chord. It is a moment of exceptional direction. The recurring yellow coat provides a haunting motif for innocence and memory.
Performances
Rosamund Pike delivers a performance of exquisite precision and vitality as Jessica. Every movement is purposeful, her voice crisp and commanding, her transitions lightning fast yet deeply grounded. She commands the space with both authority and vulnerability, embodying the contradictions at the centre of the play.
Jamie Glover as Michael brings nuance to a quietly corrosive husband who hides resentment beneath civility. Jasper Talbot as Harry captures both the banality and the horror of a young man shaped by peer pressure and entitlement.
Final Verdict
Interalia is an urgent, deeply human exploration of power, gender, and the inadequacies of our justice system. It leaves you unsettled and profoundly moved, not just by what it says about society, but by what it asks us to confront in ourselves.
Creative Team
Director: Justin Martin
Set and Costume Design: Miriam Buether
Lighting Design: Natasha Chivers
Movement and Intimacy: Lucy Hind
Composer: Erin LeCount
Music Director: Nick Pinchbeck
Casting: Alastair Coomer CDG, Noemi Downham
