Cynthia Erivo wants Prima Facie to spark debate about consent and the word 'no'
Cynthia Erivo wants audiences to leave Prima Facie arguing about one small word: no.
Speaking at a Screen Talk on Monday, Oct. 12, at the 70th BFI London Film Festival, she said the film centres on consent and on how her character's lack of consent is received, according to The Hollywood Reporter. She put it plainly in London. She hopes it starts debate.
In Prima Facie, Erivo plays Tessa, a rising legal star in London who represents defendants in sexual assault cases and is later raped herself. The screen part follows the stage performance by Jodie Comer, as noted in The Hollywood Reporter's review, and originates with playwright Suzie Miller, who wrote the stage play. The screen version, directed by Susanna White, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, according to Variety.
Erivo said she wants the film to prompt discussion about consent in general and about preconceived notions of how Black women in particular experience pain. She described the story as an examination of what happens when her character says no. The question, as she framed it, is how that no is heard in personal relationships and in wider society.
That theme shaped how the film was made. Erivo praised co-star Daniel Ings for opening a conversation about how the two actors could be protective of one another during difficult material. She also said intimacy coordinators, the specialists who choreograph intimate scenes and support performers, do not receive enough credit for work that helps actors return to themselves safely.
The role took a toll. Erivo has previously said the work on Prima Facie would make her "feel sick and angry." In London, she said she turns down a lot of offered parts. She described being guided by an internal metronome about what is right for her.
Erivo, an Oscar nominee, is widely known to cinema audiences for Wicked, in which she co-starred with Michelle Yeoh. The BFI organised the Screen Talk to present her performance in Prima Facie, with a dedicated ticket page for the film in the festival programme. The 70th edition of the festival runs through Oct. 18.
For viewers coming to the story fresh, the path from theatre stage to festival screen has been quick. The Toronto premiere was followed by early press coverage, including a Guardian film review published on Sept. 14, 2026. In London, Erivo kept the focus on the audience. Debate, she suggested, is the point.
