Rosie O'Donnell, Adjoa Andoh and Julie Hesmondhalgh Join Star-Studded Cast of Gisele Pelicot Trial Play in London

A one-off theatrical production dramatising the landmark trial of Dominique Pelicot is set to bring an extraordinary roster of actors and public figures to London's County Hall next month, with organisers confirming that thirty performers will take part in the single performance.

Among those announced for The Pelicot Trial are US comedian Rosie O'Donnell, Celebrity Traitors participant Julie Hesmondhalgh, Bridgerton star Adjoa Andoh and former EastEnders actress Tamzin Outhwaite. The quartet will appear alongside a broader ensemble drawn from stage, screen and comedy.

The production is described as "documentary theatre", a form that builds its script directly from primary source material rather than invented dialogue. In this case, the text has been assembled from court documents generated during the trial as well as psychiatric assessments of the dozens of men who faced prosecution.

Dominique Pelicot received a 20-year prison sentence after he was convicted of drugging and raping his then wife, Gisele, and of recruiting fifty other men to sexually assault her while she was unconscious. The case, heard in Avignon, provoked widespread outrage in France and far beyond its borders.

Gisele Pelicot, now 73, became an international emblem of courage after she chose to surrender the anonymity normally afforded to survivors of sexual violence. She has consistently argued that shame should attach to perpetrators rather than to those they harm, a stance that resonated powerfully with campaigners worldwide.

The Young Vic theatre, which is staging the London performance, characterised the work as a "profoundly affecting piece of documentary theatre" that pays tribute to "the ordinary woman who opened the way to change". The production was developed in collaboration with journalists and feminist organisations based in France.

Additional casting is expected to be revealed in the coming weeks. The confirmed company already extends well beyond the four headline names, encompassing figures from film, television, comedy and music.

Juliet Stevenson, best known for the film Truly, Madly, Deeply, is among those taking part, as is All Creatures Great and Small actor Samuel West. Oliva Wiliams, who appeared in The Sixth Sense, and Kadiff Kirwan of Slow Horses fame have also been confirmed.

Further participants include comedian Rosie Jones, Dune actress Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Bridgerton's Lorraine Ashbourne and Rizzle Kicks rapper Jordan Stephens. The breadth of the ensemble reflects an apparent intention to place the material before as wide an audience as possible.

The play runs for four hours and will be performed at London's County Hall on 30 November. It will simultaneously be streamed online, allowing viewers outside the capital to watch the production live.

The Pelicot Trial received its world premiere in Vienna last year. Since then it has travelled to a series of cities, including Avignon, the location of the original court proceedings, as well as New York, Lisbon, Milan and Bergen.

That touring history suggests the piece has found receptivity in multiple national contexts, something theatre watchers may attribute to the universal questions it raises about consent, institutional failure and the treatment of survivors within legal systems.

Tickets for the London staging are scheduled to go on general sale on Wednesday. Given the single-performance format and the prominence of the cast, demand is likely to be considerable.

The wider significance of the production lies in its choice of form. By converting testimony and written accounts into a piece of theatre, its makers are attempting to move beyond conventional news reporting and offer audiences an immersive encounter with the human detail of a case that has already been widely documented.

For the Young Vic, the project represents an unusual undertaking, combining the resources of a major producing theatre with journalistic research and activist collaboration. Its success may influence how similar high-profile legal cases are adapted for the stage in future.

Public reaction to the Pelicot case has already reshaped conversations in France about sexual violence, marital consent and the reluctance of victims to come forward. The London performance arrives as those debates continue to develop across Europe.

The production also raises questions about the ethics of dramatising real suffering. Its reliance on documentary sources rather than fictionalised reconstruction appears designed to address such concerns, positioning the audience as witnesses rather than spectators of invented drama.

With thirty participants involved, a four-hour running time and an online broadcast extending its reach, The Pelicot Trial looks set to become one of the most discussed theatrical events of the late autumn, carrying the story of a woman who refused to be silenced onto yet another stage.