“Inter Alia” at Wyndham’s Theatre
David Wootton in the West End
★★★☆☆
8 April 2026
Inter Alia begins more like a rock concert than a play. Amidst a series of banner-like projections, an electric guitarist and a drummer perform loudly on a high dais, while Rosamund Pike rises out of the stage, dressed as a Crown Court judge, and – microphone in hand – intones, “Fuck the patriarchy.” It epitomizes the inner strength of the play’s central figure, Jessica Parks, that is necessary to sustain her in her many demanding roles, and especially those of judge, wife, and mother. It also sets the tone for a show that is undoubtedly impressive but often feels hectic and even relentless. However, that may be the very intention of Suzie Miller’s play and of Justin Martin’s production of it, first seen last year at the National Theatre: that the audience is forced to share and feel the intense, involved life experience of Jessica, a pioneering woman in an eminent position.
Set by Miriam Buether.
Photo credit: Manuel Harlan.
Miller’s last work to appear on the London stage, in 2022, was Prima Facie, a monologue starring Jodie Comer, which initiated a loose trilogy of plays based on legal themes, of which Inter Alia is the second. Inter Alia is not a monologue, but Jessica’s role is so extensive and dominant that it often seems like one. The complex text that Miller has created makes Jessica simultaneously character and narrator, so that she comments on her story while enacting it, and voices her interlocutors. Her narrative also shuttles quickly and intricately across time and space, the temporal shifts being marked most signally by the change in the age of her son Harry between teenager (Cormac MacAlinden) and young child (one of several boy actors).
The relationship between Jessica and Harry is central to the action, Jessica stating at one point that “for Harry, I always clear my plate”, and a crisis in his life is the incident on which the action pivots. Through the first half of the play, Miller subtly prepares the way towards that crisis. Scenes in which Jessica presides incisively but compassionately over cases of sexual violence dovetail with those in which she tries to engage with Harry about subjects that are key to his development. These include his possible exposure to online pornography and the way that he speaks to girls.
In spite – or perhaps because – of the fact that her barrister husband Michael is less successful than she is, he expects Jessica to be the more active figure in the domestic sphere, and to take the lead with Harry. And, though they remain intimate with each other, he becomes increasingly resentful of her achievements. Unfortunately, his part is underwritten, so that, while he is well played by the dependable Jamie Glover, he remains for the most part a cipher interpreted by Jessica.
Harry has a stronger role, and, as movingly played by MacAlinden, he brings the play alive and gains as much, if not more, of the sympathy of the audience as Jessica. When, after a party, he is accused of rape by a classmate, he gradually reveals the strain under which he has been living. A sensitive boy, who has previously been bullied, he is torn between the principles of his feminist mother and the pressures of his peers and of digital influences. Thus, he becomes the instance (the “Inter Alia” of the title) that tests Jessica’s professional and moral convictions. The second part of the play charts her responses to his decisions.
The production seems so expertly conceived and constructed that it is difficult to tease out and distinguish the individual contributions of the writer, the director, and the main actor of this production. It is also difficult to imagine it being presented differently. As with Prima Facie, Miller has rewritten Inter Alia as a novel, and, as Prima Facie is now to be adapted as a film, the same is likely to happen with this latest play. If that happens, the presentation would almost certainly be more naturalistic, and perhaps more ordinary, with the people that Jessica evokes being embodied by other actors.
On Wyndham’s stage, Inter Alia is an original and striking theatrical event, in which all elements interact closely and run smoothly over almost two hours, so supporting Pike in her telling of Jessica’s story. Designer Miriam Buether is responsible for both the credible costumes and the sophisticated, adaptable set. For most of the first half, this takes the form of Jessica’s kitchen, which is detailed enough to be believable but also abstract enough to facilitate the fluid narrative. However, soon after the accusation against Harry is made public, the domestic setting disappears leaving a dark void.
In a work in which technology plays a significant part – from Jessica’s video calls to Harry’s use of social media – those responsible for sound and vision must all be highly praised: video designer Willie Williams; lighting designer Natasha Chivers; composers Erin LeCount and James Jacob pka Jakwob; and sound designers Ben and Max Ringham.
Ultimately, Inter Alia may be best remembered for Pike’s committed performance, which feels as much endurance test as tour de force. Though Jessica has a greater degree of agency, she may be compared to the unnamed protagonist of Machinal, Sophie Treadwell’s feminist expressionist masterpiece of 1928. Both women find themselves controlled and compromised by the stressful demands of modern life. For the heroine of Machinal, that ends in tragedy. For Jessica, a steadfast love for her son provides her with hope.
