The 28 Years Later actress said “it’s the perfect full circle”
Jodie Comer has described the role as her “homecoming”(Image: Kate Green/Getty Images for BFC)
Jodie Comer has shared a full circle moment as she is set to return to Liverpool. The 32-year-old has enjoyed a successful career in the acting industry after she shot to fame for her performance in Killing Eve. The Scouser’s success continued into last year with her starring role in smash hit success, 28 Years Later.
Things aren’t slowing down as she is set to return to the stage for Prima Facie, which starts touring this month. It isn’t the first time Jodie is taking on the role of Tessa, as she won her first Tony award for her performance in Prima Facie back in 2023. The entire play is just Jodie on stage, and was directed by Justin Martin and written by Suzie Miller.
The award was her first Tony nomination and win, and came following her Broadway debut in Miller’s one-woman production, which follows a British defence lawyer who ends up in the witness box. The play also bagged two awards, Best New Play and Best Actress, at the 2023 Olivier Awards in London.
Four years after Jodie made her West End debut, she is returning to play Tessa in Prima Facie, which arrives at the Liverpool Playhouse in March.
In an interview with Harpers Bazaar, the Scouse star described her return to stage as the “perfect full circle.” She said: “I’ve always had a dream to take this play to Liverpool – being from Liverpool myself, from a working-class background”.
Jodie, who hails from Childwall, has always stayed true to her Liverpool roots despite earning her status as one of Hollywood’s most in-demand actors.
The Scouse star has enjoyed a successful career since she first performed on stage as Tessa(Image: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for BFC)
When the opportunity came up to play Tessa one last time, Jodie was keen to reprise the role. She said: “Honestly it’s such a gift. I’ve got a fair chance to revisit Tess, to see how the character can develop and what further truth I can find. It’s rare.”
Jodie has spoken to Harpers Bazaar about the preparations for the role, as her life has fully transformed since she first stepped on stage as Tessa four years ago.
She said: “I’ve had so many different life experiences. I’m coming into the room feeling a little more confident, a little more knowing, which is making for more detailed and revelatory discoveries.”
Jodie sat down and re-read the script to see how much she remembered. She said: “It’s such a mountain of a challenge that is so terrifying and invigorating and thrilling! Once I knew that Tessa was still in there, that took the pressure off. Then I knew it was ultimately about stamina.
“It’s to do with pace, where you take your breath. The rhythm has to be very particular. I’ve got such a respect for my own body and the impact it has. You have to take care of yourself.”
“I eat well, I work out, I have a bath every night, I do a lot of breath-work. I’m trying to look after my nervous system.”
Jodie expressed her excitement about her Liverpool return for Prima Facie, in which she has referred to as her “homecoming”.
She said: “We’re going out to regional, smaller cities and presenting Tess to the people she probably speaks to most. To go on this tour and have the final week in Liverpool – a homecoming for both Tess and myself – feels really quite magical.”
Jodie also took the opportunity to talk about some of television’s most gripping series’ over the last couple of years. She referenced Stephen Graham’s Netflix series Adolescence which she described as “pure drama”.
She said: “I feel like a lot of dramas now are really fun and salacious. You sit down and watch eight episodes in one day, and there’s no gravitas. Or there’s something you can kind of watch, but not be fully engaged with.
“What I loved about Adolescence was that it was pure drama. It stimulated and moved us. People connected with it – we were really hungry for it.
“As we’ve become more disconnected in our day-to-day life, it started questions and conversations about an issue that was an underlying current in our society, about which we had blinkers on.”
Prima Facie arrives at the Liverpool Playhouse on Tuesday, March 17 and will run until Saturday, March 21.