The Beast's Pen

A rape trial, no witnesses, just the testimonies of the alleged victim and the accused; this is the scenario for a piece of interactive theatre in which members of the audience form the jury and ultimately deliver their verdict.  Remembering back to Jury Service at the Old Bailey, the setting and the atmosphere are just about right and the proceedings have a realistic feel to them, up to the point when the jury is allowed to question the pair; however, this adds to the sense of involvement. In the absence of independent evidence, it is simply a case of which version of events the jury believes; in Scottish law, a verdict of “not proven” would surely have been forthcoming in a case like this, but it is not allowed here. The verdict at this particular performance was followed by a delicious twist and it would be interesting to know what would have happened had the opposite verdict been given. Good Fun.