Photo : Simon Gosselin
We saw, we loved 'The Trial of a Lifetime': The day women said no
Step into the courtroom of history, where an immersive play brings the fierce battle for reproductive rights back to life. By breaking the fourth wall, the performance turns a legendary legal saga into a powerful, shared experience about the strength of sisterhood and the resilience of those who defied the law. Prepare to leave the venue with your perspective fundamentally shifted.
Le Splendid (Paris 10th)
About
Experience the powerful historical production Le Procès d’une vie : le jour où les femmes ont dit non at Le Splendid in the 10th arrondissement. This immersive play invites the audience to engage with the legacy of the Bobigny trial and the fight for reproductive rights. Through interactive storytelling, the cast of seven actors explores the strength of collective action and the history of the feminist movement. Suitable for ages 13 and up, this 80-minute performance runs until January 3, 2027. Join this compelling theatrical experience to witness how intimate struggles transformed into a national turning point.
What is it about?
Summer 1971, 16-year-old Marie-Claire gets pregnant. Although it is a crime punishable by law, she does not want to keep the child. She wishes to have an abortion. In solidarity, her mother, Michèle, followed by Lucette, Renée, and Micheline, do everything possible to help her. But the clandestine abortion goes wrong… Autumn 1972. All the women find themselves indicted. A certain lawyer, Gisèle Halimi, will orchestrate this trial, known as the Bobigny trial. Their courage wrote the rest of the story.
The editors' opinion
The show opens with a giant general assembly. The audience is questioned and asked if they would have signed the famous manifesto of the 343 women calling for the legalization of abortion in April 1971; an excerpt from the article published in Le Nouvel Observateur is quoted, and Simone de Beauvoir is even entrusted with the role of warm-up act. The gamble is risky: to transform a page of militant history into participatory theater. And it is a success, because it is this sororal energy that will irrigate the 80 minutes of the show.
With its cast (six women and one man) that combines several roles, the troupe avoids any heroization: everyone carries a part of the fight and reminds us that it is the strength of the collective that defied the arbitrary.
We therefore retrace the thread of history: a 16-year-old teenager, raped, finds herself pregnant and wishes to have an illegal abortion; a mother, suffocated by societal constraints, looks for an "angel maker," as those who helped with clandestine abortions were called; and a lawyer who turned the Bobigny trial into a political debate. Intimate struggles emerge before transforming into a collective fight. We follow their doubts, their hesitations, their impulses, until this common certainty: women must be able to freely dispose of their bodies.
With this play, Barbara Lamballais and Karina Testa weave a salutary reminder, skillfully emphasizing that social conquests are unfortunately never irreversible.
Khadija M.
Work freely inspired by the life of Gisèle Halimi and the book The Bobigny Trial: Choosing the Cause of Women (ed. Gallimard)
- Play by: Barbara Lamballais and Karina Testa
- Directed by: Barbara Lamballais, assisted by Armance Galpin
> June 30-August 29: Tuesday to Saturday, at 9 p.m.
> from September 2: Wednesday to Saturday, at 9 p.m.; Sunday, at 3 p.m.
> additional performances: Monday, December 28 and Tuesday, December 29, at 9 p.m.
> no performances: Thursday, December 24 and Friday, December 25, Friday, January 1st
Our take on this event
Running from June 30, 2026, to January 3, 2027, Le Procès d’une vie : le jour où les femmes ont dit non occupies the stage at Le Splendid. Written by Barbara Lamballais and Karina Testa, this 80-minute show explores the 1971 case of Marie-Claire and the subsequent legal battle led by lawyer Gisèle Halimi. The production uses an interactive approach, involving the audience in a large general assembly to reflect on the historical struggle for women's autonomy.
The cast of seven performers rotates roles to avoid individual heroization, focusing instead on the solidarity that fueled this social movement. Scheduling varies: performances are held Tuesday through Saturday at 21:00 until August 29. From September 2 onwards, the schedule shifts to Wednesday through Saturday at 21:00, with additional Sunday matinees at 15:00. Note that special shows are scheduled for December 28 and 29 at 21:00, with closures on December 24, 25, and January 1.
Tickets are available across three price tiers: 44 € for Carré Or, 39 € for 1st category, and 31 € for 2nd category. The performance is recommended for audiences aged 13 and older.
