Milo Rau & Servane Dècle: The Pelicot Trial

“Shame must change sides.” With these words, and her courageous decision to make her trial public, Gisèle Pelicot ignited an international reckoning in the fight to end violence against women. What began as the Mazan rape case, in a small town in southern France, revealed how ordinary men across ages and social backgrounds could commit an unthinkable crime, the repeated assault of an unconscious woman. This urgent evening of readings revisits examinations, pleas, and commentaries from the trial. Created by Servane Dècle and Milo Rau in collaboration with Pelicot’s lawyers, the court, psychological experts, legal commentators, witnesses, and feminist organizations, it confronts not only one case, but the global system of patriarchy itself.