The Pelicot Trial Reimagined: A Powerful Theatrical Retelling in Avignon

This year’s Avignon Festival was marked by a compelling theatrical production set within a medieval convent, located close to the courthouse where six months earlier Gisèle Pelicot courageously confronted her ex-husband along with dozens of men accused of drugging and raping her.

Titled simply “The Pelicot Trial,” the play offers a condensed portrayal of the intense four-month legal proceedings that captivated France.

Created by French playwright Servane Dècle and Swiss director Milo Rau, the production distills the complex trial into a four-hour stage experience, capturing its emotional and societal impact.

All 51 defendants were convicted, most on rape charges, in a case that forced the nation to confront difficult realities: the prevalence of sexual violence, the alarming use of drugs to facilitate abuse, and the unsettling truth that perpetrators can be trusted family members and neighbors.

The playwright explained that the production responded to Pelicot’s decision to waive her right to a closed trial, insisting that the video evidence—documenting hundreds of assaults recorded by her husband—be publicly shown, aiming to confront the reality of rape without evasion.

On the evening of the performance, a crowd gathered outside the venue, dominated by women seeking last-minute tickets. Many came to observe how the director transformed the courtroom drama into a work of art and to find a space to reflect on their own experiences with sexual violence. Some attendees were visibly moved to tears.

Nathalie Le Meur, a 54-year-old art therapist waiting in line, remarked, “Men may have felt shielded before and allowed misconduct to go unchecked. This trial makes it clear that accountability is possible and that perpetrators could face justice.”