Pelicot Trial Play Comes to London for One Night

Published: 29 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online

A four-hour stage production inspired by the landmark rape trial involving Gisèle Pelicot is set to come to London for a single performance this November, bringing a theatrical reconstruction of one of France’s most closely watched criminal cases to the UK capital.

The production, titled “The Pelicot Trial: Tribute to Gisèle Pelicot”, will be staged at London County Hall, a venue already associated with courtroom drama through its long-running connection with Agatha Christie’s “Witness for the Prosecution”. The London performance is being presented by the Young Vic and is expected to feature a large ensemble of well-known actors.

The full cast has not yet been announced, but Nadia Fall, artistic director and co-chief executive of the Young Vic, said the production could involve about 27 actors. Because the London performance will take place only once, organisers are able to invite performers who might not otherwise be available for a conventional long theatrical run.

Fall said she first encountered the production in French and described the experience as deeply emotional and difficult to watch. She was particularly struck by its emphasis on witnessing and testimony rather than conventional theatrical storytelling.

The production was created by Swiss director and playwright Milo Rau and Servane Dècle. Rather than presenting the case through a traditional drama with fictionalised scenes, costumes and elaborate sets, the creators have built the work around material from the actual proceedings.

The play draws extensively on what was said in court during the trial. Journalists who covered the proceedings provided Rau and Dècle with thousands of pages of notes and material, helping the creators reconstruct the testimony and atmosphere surrounding the case.

Rau has become known for bringing real legal cases to the stage. His previous work has included theatrical treatments of the trial of members of the Russian punk group Pussy Riot and the proceedings surrounding former Romanian leader Nicolae Ceaușescu.

The Pelicot case presented a different and particularly sensitive challenge because it involved sexual violence, questions about consent and the experiences of a woman who deliberately chose to make her identity public.

Gisèle Pelicot became internationally recognised after deciding to waive her legal right to anonymity during the proceedings against her former husband, Dominique Pelicot. The decision meant that the trial could be followed publicly rather than being conducted behind restrictions designed to protect her identity.

Dominique Pelicot was accused of drugging his former wife over a period of years and arranging for other men to sexually assault her while she was unconscious. In December 2024, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison, while all 51 men tried alongside him were found guilty.

Pelicot’s decision to allow her identity to be made public became one of the defining features of the case. She argued that the shame associated with sexual violence should fall on those accused of committing such acts rather than on victims.

Her stance attracted international attention and turned the proceedings into a wider discussion about sexual violence, consent, victimhood and the treatment of women within legal systems and society.

For the creators of the stage production, that wider significance is central to the work. Rau has described the production as more than a conventional theatrical performance, characterising it as a public act of reflection on the issues exposed by the trial.

The play has already been presented in several countries and languages, including in Avignon, the French city where the trial took place, and New York. It has reportedly travelled to at least 15 countries, with audiences encountering the story through different languages and cultural settings.

Rau said the response across different countries demonstrated how widely the themes of the case could resonate. Although the proceedings were rooted in a specific French legal and social context, the questions surrounding sexual violence and attitudes towards victims have a much broader relevance.

The London production will follow the same basic approach, presenting the facts and testimony from the trial rather than turning the case into a conventional fictional narrative.

Dècle said audiences have generally remained for the full four-hour performance, although spectators are allowed to leave and return if they find the material difficult. The length of the production is part of its approach to testimony, allowing the audience to spend an extended period confronting the evidence and words that emerged during the proceedings.

Gisèle Pelicot herself has attended a performance. She watched the production in New York, where she responded positively to the portrayal by the actress playing her.

Her involvement in the theatrical project is significant because the production is not simply based on a distant historical event. It deals with a case involving a living survivor who has publicly participated in discussions surrounding its legacy.

The decision to bring the production to London also reflects the continuing international interest in Pelicot’s story. The trial generated widespread attention in France and beyond, while Pelicot’s public decision to reject anonymity turned her into a prominent figure in discussions about the social response to sexual violence.

Fall said the Young Vic’s interest in presenting the production was connected to its focus on testimony and witnessing. She described Pelicot’s public stance as representing resilience and courage and said the story had significance beyond the specific criminal proceedings.

However, the production’s organisers have also acknowledged that it is difficult material. The four-hour format and the reliance on testimony rather than conventional dramatic devices mean that audiences are confronted directly with the seriousness of the case.

That approach raises different questions from those associated with a traditional theatrical adaptation. Instead of creating fictional dialogue or imagining private moments, the production asks audiences to engage with a record of events and statements presented during the trial.

The creators believe that approach can encourage audiences to think more deeply about the wider social circumstances surrounding sexual violence. Rau said the trial became, in his interpretation, a reflection on society and patriarchal structures rather than only a legal proceeding involving individual defendants.

Dècle also expressed a desire to see more men attend the production. She argued that understanding the backgrounds and behaviour of the men involved could form an important part of examining how sexual violence occurs and how society responds to it.

The audience so far has reportedly been predominantly female, creating another dimension to the discussion around the production. Its organisers hope that the London performance will attract a broad audience rather than being viewed solely as a work aimed at women.

The production comes at a time when theatre makers are increasingly exploring real events, court cases and documentary material as a way of examining difficult questions. Such productions can give audiences an opportunity to consider events through testimony and evidence while also raising questions about the responsibilities involved in representing real people and traumatic experiences.

In the case of the Pelicot trial, that responsibility is especially significant because of the personal experiences at the centre of the proceedings. The production therefore relies heavily on the factual record of the case and the testimony that emerged during the court process.

The London performance will also take place in a venue with a strong association with courtroom storytelling. London County Hall is home to the stage presentation of “Witness for the Prosecution”, making it an appropriate setting for a production centred on a real trial.

For the Young Vic, staging the play for one night allows it to bring an internationally recognised piece to London without committing to a conventional long-term run. It also creates an opportunity to assemble a large group of actors for a single collective performance.

Fall expects significant interest in the event, particularly because of the limited opportunity to see the production in London. The final cast is expected to be announced before tickets become available.

For Rau and Dècle, however, the London appearance is part of a much larger journey. They have taken the production to audiences in different countries and languages, maintaining the central focus on the testimony and events that emerged from the French proceedings.

Their stated aim is to keep the conversation surrounding Pelicot’s case alive. The trial may have ended in court, but the questions it raised about sexual violence, consent, responsibility and social attitudes continue to be discussed.

The London performance will therefore serve not only as a theatrical event but also as another opportunity for audiences to engage with the testimony and wider issues associated with one of the most closely followed criminal trials of recent years.