Playwright acquitted of groping young actress as they performed his poems
AN ASPIRING playwright has been cleared of groping a young actress during rehearsals at the Royal Court Theatre, after he explained that the physical contact was “artistic and creative”.
Simon David, 57, was charged with sexually assaulting the 20-year-old woman as they ran through a dramatic interpretation of his poems, E is for Ecstasy and Kiss Not Over, at the Sloane Square theatre in December last year.
The woman told the court that David had grabbed her buttocks and touched her breasts while they were alone. She claimed that he told her afterwards: “It was fun trying to do that, knowing you’re not interested.”
But a jury took just 15 minutes to acquit him following a three-day trial at Isleworth Crown Court, west London.
The court was told David, of Notting Hill, west London, had worked in the theatre’s bookshop for the past 16 years and had never been in trouble before.
He declined to speak about his ordeal as he left court, saying: “I’ve already spoken enough about this case.”
During the trial, he said that the contact was consensual. “The intention was artistic, creative and dancedriven,” he added. “As a performer I’m a little over-the-top in my movements. We both went one hundred per cent into it, we were both passionate and very strong. It’s not just reading the poem. They have to do the movements and physicality.”
The woman claimed she made it clear she was uncomfortable, but was too frightened to leave the room, believing David would try to “kill” her.
That claim was an example of her “over-dramatic” account, said David, who has worked with many performers throughout his theatre career. The woman said David deliberately pinned her hands behind her back, but David said his E is for Ecstasy poem includes embracing.
“That’s what upset me,” he told the jury. “She says I was holding and grabbing her, but that is not the case. The hands behind the back was romantic, in line with the poem along with a hand resting on the bottom, touching the throat and hand coming off her breast.”
He said the interpretation of Kiss Not Over required physical contact. “It is passion-driven and she completely consented,” he said. “She was going along with it in the context of the rehearsal and we were both in the moment.”
David denied he became “carried away” due to his passion for his work. “I have a very strong moral grounding,” he added. He said the door of the rehearsal room was open at all times.
When arrested he did not ask for a lawyer and gave a full explanation.