⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Five Stars)

Please note that this review contains references to the sexual assault central to the plot of Inter Alia and I strongly urge all prospective audience members to read the content warnings for Inter Alia before deciding whether to see this production.

Writer Suzie Miller and director Justin Martin reunite after the success of Prima Facie both in the West End and on Broadway, and lightning has struck twice. Inter Alia is a harrowing and utterly gripping piece of theatre that confronts a difficult topic with complexity and nuance.

At the centre of the play is Jessica Parks (portrayed by Rosamund Pike), a high-flying judge and mother to a teenage son. From the moment she first appears on stage, Pike has the audience in the palm of her hand, delivering an incredibly engaging and dynamic portrayal of both domestic and judicial life: cooking dinner, ironing shirts, and belting out karaoke between sentencing rapists for their crimes. It’s a whiplash performance in the best sense: energetic, relentless, and full of wit. Pike seizes every beat of comedy the script offers while holding the audience utterly rapt for the entire 100-minute, interval-less play.

The story takes a devastating turn when Jessica’s teenage son, Harry (Jasper Talbot), is accused of rape. What follows is a masterclass in performance from Pike as she embodies a woman torn between her acute knowledge of the trauma experienced by survivors and the woeful reality of how rarely UK courts deliver guilty verdicts in rape trials. Jessica is forced to confront the possibility that her own child may be capable of this crime, while instinctively trying to use her legal expertise to protect him. As she and her husband Michael (Jamie Glover) strategise a legal defence for Harry, her moral compass, professional identity, and perceived failure as a parent come into painful collision.

The subject matter is incredibly timely, with public discourse increasingly focused on toxic masculinity and the influence of dangerous online figures such as Andrew Tate (themes also explored in Netflix’s Adolescence, to which Inter Alia will no doubt be compared). Miller’s script explores how the behaviour of young men like Harry is shaped both by the sinister corners of the internet and by the male role models in their lives, with Harry's father Michael’s casual misogyny echoed (and dangerously magnified) in his son.

Visually, the production is just as accomplished. Miriam Buether’s set begins as a warm, lived-in family kitchen, which is later stripped away leaving a stark space: just a dining table and chairs against the shadowy backdrop of a deserted playground, a metaphor for Jessica’s maternal guilt and the moment she once lost sight of Harry as a child while wrapped up in her legal work. Natasha Chivers' lighting amplifies the emotional stakes of the play, while Willie Williams' live video design is cleverly integrated during a FaceTime call between Jessica and a colleague. The music, composed by Erin LeCount and James Jacob PKA Jakwob, adds a pulsing energy, especially through a recurring heartbeat-like drum.

Inter Alia is not an easy watch, nor is it meant to be. However, it is a smart and impeccably crafted piece of theatre that showcases not only the strength of Suzie Miller’s writing and Justin Martin’s sharp direction, but also a towering central performance by Rosamund Pike.

Inter Alia runs at National Theatre until 13th September 2025.

Tickets Available Here