“I don't want to do anything that suggests manipulation.”
Why it's great
She is managing her face so a glance cannot be called a trick.
Register
Neutral
Use it yourself
I stayed quiet, because one more joke would suggest I was pushing the vote.
00:00 / 02:27
00:00 / 02:27
Cross-Examining Herself in Court, Explained
National Theatre Live: Prima Facie · 2022
Chapter 18 of 22 · 2'27"
A sympathetic smile snaps shut and the questions turn professional: name, the first night, vodka in the office, then the night itself. She hears a snicker and still calls it support. Once she reaches the steady walk back to bed, the kinder detail becomes a weapon. "In my head, I am cross-examining myself."
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 0:04–1:14
A Smile, Then All Business
70s - 1:28–2:12
❝ Monologue · 11 lines The Walk Back Turns on Her
44s
Cross-Examining Herself in Court, explained
What happens
In court, a man clears his throat, gives a sympathetic smile, then turns all professional. He asks the witness to tell, in her own words, about the first night with Julian Brookes and the night in question. She describes vomiting and being carried back to bed, then realizes the steady walk means he lied about being too drunk. She answers aloud while, in her head, cross-examining herself.
What's really going on
The smile lasts a moment, then he is "all professional." Name, occupation, the first night, vodka in the office, "the night in question." A snicker comes from the gallery, where Julian's friends sit. She still calls it "showing support for one of their own." What sounds like care starts to cut the other way. She is asked about vomiting, then about "Julian carefully carrying me back to the bed." Set beside "He didn't fall or stumble," the carry means he was not too drunk to remember. "He has lied to me about being so drunk." "This will be used against me." If he walked steadily, "They will say I was the only drunk one in this story, so I am the less reliable one." "I answer the questions aloud. In my head, I am cross-examining myself." Her own defence skill, finding fault again and again, is aimed at her story. Her mother's face does not change. She digs her nails into her palms.
Key lines & what they mean
- “I don't want to do anything that suggests manipulation.”
- She will not meet the woman juror's eye or do anything that could look like she is steering the room.
- “He has lied to me about being so drunk.”
- The careful carry back to bed tells her he was sober enough to remember, so his claim of being that drunk was a lie.
- “They will say I was the only drunk one in this story, so I am the less reliable one.”
- She is predicting the attack, not reporting one already made: a steady walk will be used to argue that only she was drunk, and that she is the one less to be believed.
- “I answer the questions aloud. In my head, I am cross-examining myself.”
- The answers come out loud for the court, but inside she is running the same cross-examination on her own account.
- “I'm using my own defence skills to doubt my very own story.”
- The habit she uses to pick holes in a case is now aimed at the story she is telling.
Theme
- Justice — On the stand she watches a steady walk become proof that she, not he, is "the less reliable one."
- Lies — The careful carry back to bed makes "He has lied to me about being so drunk" her conclusion, because he did not stumble.
What this chapter teaches
Teaching points
Review right after watchingMy level1/8
A1–C2 is the CEFR scale. Cards above the level you pick fade, and playback will not auto-pause on them.
Language points
Click a card to jump to its moment in the videoGolden lines
A great line in its own right — why and how to use it“He has lied to me about being so drunk.”
Why it's great
The short line turns his drunken excuse into a lie and stops there.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
He lied to his boss about missing the first train.
“They will say I was the only drunk one in this story, so I am the less reliable one.”
Why it's great
She says the attack for them, and the comparison does the damage.
Register
Neutral
Use it yourself
They will say I was the only one without notes, so I am the less prepared one.
“I answer the questions aloud. In my head, I am cross-examining myself.”
Why it's great
The answer and the private cross-examination occupy the same second.
Register
literary
Use it yourself
I nodded at the client. In my head, I was tearing apart every promise I had just made.
“I'm using my own defence skills to doubt my very own story.”
Why it's great
The skills that should defend her are the ones taking her story apart.
Register
literary
Use it yourself
He turned his own checklist against his very own report.
Monologue
One character carrying the scene — shadow the whole passage❝ Private cross-examination
And it occurs to me in this moment, in court, as I am answering this question, that Julian carefully carrying me back to the bed means he wasn't too drunk that he could not remember. He has lied to me about being so drunk. He was able to lift me and walk steadily back. He didn't fall or stumble. He knew what he was doing, but... This will be used against me. Yeah. They will say I was the only drunk one in this story, so I am the less reliable one. I answer the questions aloud. In my head, I am cross-examining myself. I'm using my own defence skills to doubt my very own story. Finding fault in my story. Trapped again and again and again. Dig my nails into my palms.
She proves he could remember, then uses that proof to show why they will trust her less.
Up next · 19in the darkThe scene: Witness Faces the Cross-ExaminationPeople also search
Questions, then the linesWhy does she decide he lied about being so drunk?
Because he carried her back to bed without falling or stumbling. She takes that steady walk as proof he was not too drunk to remember, so "He has lied to me about being so drunk."
Why does she think the steady walk will be used against her?
She is still answering when she makes the inference. If he walked steadily, "They will say I was the only drunk one in this story, so I am the less reliable one."
Why does she avoid the woman juror's eye?
She looks at the jury, feels anxious, and will not meet that juror's eye. The line is "I don't want to do anything that suggests manipulation."
Who snickers while she describes the first night?
She hears a snicker, looks out, and sees extra people in the gallery: Julian's friends, school or university mates who "all look the same." She calls it "showing support for one of their own."