A documentary play retelling the trial of Gisèle Pelicot will be performed at the Young Vic Theatre in London on November 30 and broadcast live online worldwide.
The four hour special performance of The Pelicot Trial will feature a rotating cast of 30 actors, including American star Rosie O'Donnell and Bridgerton actors Adjoa Andoh and Lorraine Ashbourne.
Actors Alfred Enoch from the Harry Potter film series, Juliet Stevenson from Bend It Like Beckham, and Olivia Williams from Dune: Prophecy will also take to the stage. Fifteen key performers will succeed one another during the show, which runs continuously without an intermission.
Tickets for the single London production sold out within minutes on Thursday, October 7. To allow viewers around the world to watch, the Young Vic Theatre will stream the entire performance live for free on its official YouTube channel starting at 8:00 p.m. French time.
Documentary Drama Based on Court Records
Organizers described the production as a documentary play designed to honor an ordinary woman who opened the way for social change. The work premiered at the Vienna Festival in Austria in June 2025 before securing its single London staging at the Young Vic Theatre, a venue on The Cut in Lambeth.
The text relies directly on witness testimony and written court transcripts from the trial concerning the Mazan rapes. At the conclusion of that trial, Dominique Pelicot, the former husband of Gisèle Pelicot, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for drugging her and recruiting dozens of men online to sexually abuse her.
In a statement published on its website, the Young Vic Theatre said that as a sociological study, the trial demonstrated how ordinary men of all ages and social classes in the small southern French town of Mazan were capable of committing repeated rape against an unconscious woman.
Feminist Impact and International Support
Gisèle Pelicot became an international feminist figure during the court proceedings after she chose to waive her right to closed door hearings, insisting that the trial remain open to the public and the media.
Following the trial, she recounted her experience in a book that she promoted globally. During her promotional tour in England, she was received by Queen Camilla, who has long championed charitable organizations supporting survivors of sexual assault and domestic abuse.
She was also recently recognized at the Venice International Film Festival in Italy, where she appeared on stage alongside two time Academy Award winning actress Jane Fonda.
Upcoming Television Production in France
The story of the trial is also being adapted for television in France. Broadcaster TF1, the country's largest private television network, is currently preparing a television film titled M'endors pas, which translates as Do Not Put Me to Sleep.
The television movie is freely adapted from two books authored by Caroline Darian, the daughter of Gisèle and Dominique Pelicot.
Producers at TF1 aim to use the fictional drama to raise public awareness about chemical submission, the practice of administering drugs to individuals without their knowledge, and to strengthen protections for victims.
