Kate Winslet, Indira Varma and more join full cast of The Pelicot Trial play

Full casting has been confirmed for the UK premiere of The Pelicot Trial, which will be livestreamed for free.

Announced as part of the recent season from the Young Vic, Milo Rau and Servane Decle’s piece of documentary theatre will have its UK premiere at London County Hall on 30 November. The UK premiere will be livestreamed worldwide on the Young Vic YouTube channel for free on the night between 6pm and 10pm.

30 artists and public figures will perform in this one-off event. Announced today is a host of names, including Brian Cox, Lindsay Duncan, Misan Harriman, Suzy Eddie Izzard, Lennie James, Helena Kennedy, George MacKay, Tobias Menzies, Ambika Mod, John Simm, Indira Varma, Ellie Wilson, Kate Winslet and Harriet Wistrich, with countertenor Hugh Cutting.

They join Adjoa Andoh, Nicole Ansari-Cox, Lorraine Ashbourne, Leo Bill, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Alfred Enoch, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Rosie Jones, Kadiff Kirwan, Rosie O’Donnell, Tamzin Outhwaite, Jordan Stephens, Juliet Stevenson, Samuel West and Olivia Williams.

The play is based on the trial of the men who drugged and raped Gisèle Pelicot, and the piece is created from documents from the trial and psychiatric reports of the 51 men who were prosecuted. It forms an urgent statement on the prevalence of sexual violence and its legal treatment.

As a sociological study, it shows that in a typical Western European city – the small town of Mazan in the south of France – perfectly ordinary men from all social classes and age groups are capable of perhaps the most extreme crime: the repeated rape of an unconscious woman.

Pelicot, who made her trial public and has become a symbol of resilience and the fight against sexual violence, said: “Shame has to change sides.”

The play was developed in collaboration with journalists, anthropologues, and local feminist organisations in France. It received its world premiere at the Vienna Festival and has toured internationally to cities including Avignon, New York, Lisbon, Milan, and Bergen, performed by a different company in each city.

The Pelicot Trial is presented by the Young Vic, Eleanor Lloyd Productions and Rebecca Stafford Productions. It is supported by the Olwyn Foundation for Women and Girls.