#Penetration

No-one lies about rape. Do they?

Produced by Living the Drama
Presented by The Cockpit

You either consent or you don't. This is absolutely clear, but when alchohol and drugs are involved, perceptions and memory can become muddled. When Sean is accused of rape by Anna, a fellow student, his arrest throws both his and his mother's world, into turmoil. Felicity, a single mother and lifelong feminist, knows women don’t lie about rape just as surely as she knows her son is innocent. Yet as the pendulum swings between Anna’s credible account and Sean’s recollection of that drunken night, the line between verbal and non-verbal consent becomes increasingly blurred.

As the play unfolds, our fundamental belief of 'innocent until proved guilty' is turned on its head as Sean is exposed in the press, becomes a target for abuse and is barred from his course, his university and his future. The interminable two year wait, while the Crown Prosecution Service decides whether to prosecute, finally drives Felicity from grief to a dark obsession with tracking Anna down, and consequent life-changing events.

Written by Carolyn Lloyd-Davies and directed by David Trevaskis, '#Penetration' is inspired by seven true stories between 2014 and 2019. This controversial play explores the blurred parameters of sexual consent, the powerful influence of social media and exposes the hidden snares within our liberal hook-up culture.

No-one lies about rape. Do they?