Milo Rau, the Swiss director known for his headline-driven theatrical works, is bringing a four-hour documentary play about the trial of the men who drugged and raped Gisèle Pelicot to the Young Vic, with performances at County Hall on 30 November and a full livestream after the run sold out.
Rau, whose past projects have examined conflicts in Iraq and the Congo and the exploitation of migrant workers, created the piece with Servane Dècle. The production, which has already toured internationally, assembles a high-profile cast including Adjoa Andoh, Rosie Jones and Olivia Williams in what the Young Vic has described as an act of witnessing rather than a traditional staged drama.
Young Vic artistic director Nadia Fall said the production eschews conventional theatrical devices: "It was the act of witnessing that really got me," she said. "It isn’t scenes and costumes in a set like a traditional piece of theatre. It is the facts. It just floors you."
The Pelicot trial play is one of several theatre and performance events being recommended for streaming in November. Other highlights called out for the month include a staging of Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia featuring Isis Hainsworth and an ecstatic dance work presented inside a Norwegian museum, offering a mix of classic drama and contemporary performance to watch online.
Producers and venues have increasingly turned to livestreaming to reach wider audiences when demand outstrips available seats, and the Young Vic’s decision to offer a full broadcast of this production follows that trend. The company says the livestream will present the work in full to viewers unable to secure tickets to the sold-out live performances.
The presentation adds to ongoing conversations about how documentary theatre can confront real-world events on stage, and how filmed and streamed versions of such work can extend the reach and impact of sometimes difficult material without altering its documentary intent.