London gets one night with the Pelicot trial, and no, it is not a comfortable evening

London is about to host one of those productions that theatre people call necessary and everyone else calls a test of endurance. The Pelicot Trial: Tribute to Gisèle Pelicot will be performed for a single night in November at London County Hall, the venue associated with Agatha Christie’s Witness for the Prosecution. The show runs four hours, which is either a statement of purpose or a warning, depending on how much patience you have left.

The piece has already travelled widely, including to New York City and Avignon, where the trial at the centre of it took place. It was created by Milo Rau and Servane Dècle, and Rau has made a habit of bringing court cases to the stage, including the Moscow trial of Pussy Riot and the trial of Nicolae Ceaușescu. Here, the material is the testimony itself. Journalists who covered the case handed over thousands of pages of notebooks, and the production is built from what was said in court.

That court record is now familiar well beyond France. Gisèle Pelicot became internationally known after she gave up her right to anonymity so the trial could be public. Her ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in December 2024 after, for almost a decade from 2011, he drugged her unconscious and invited dozens of men from an internet forum to rape her. Guilty verdicts were returned for all 51 accused men. Pelicot wanted the case to remain public, saying that shame should change sides.

Nadia Fall, artistic director and co-chief executive of the Young Vic, said she first saw the work in French and found it harrowing and emotionally difficult. She also said what struck her most was the act of witnessing, because the piece is long-form and testimonial rather than built like conventional theatre. The Young Vic is presenting the London performance, and Fall expects it to sell out quickly. Because the show is limited to one night, she said the company can assemble a cast of well-known actors for a short commitment. The full cast will be announced before tickets go on sale in the coming weeks, and she said there will be 27 actors altogether.

The creators say the production is more than a play. Rau said it is being staged once in each city and described it as a political act. Dècle said audiences keep coming through the full four hours, even though they are free to leave and return. She added that Gisèle Pelicot herself attended the New York performance, and that the actress playing her did better than she had done on trial.

The audience, Dècle said, has been largely female, though she would like to see more men in the room. That may be the most predictable detail in the whole enterprise. A case that became a public reckoning in France is now touring theatre capitals, and the organisers clearly believe the conversation is not finished. Pelicot, they said, opened the door; they are simply keeping it open.

Written by Andreas Hofer andreas.hofer@alpineweekly.com