The Pelicot Trial play announces free livestream and initial UK premiere cast

Initial casting has been confirmed for the UK premiere of The Pelicot Trial.

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.

Tickets for the event in London go on general sale on 7 October.

30 artists and public figures will perform in this one-off event. The first names revealed are 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. More will be added in the coming weeks.

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.