Until April 26, 2026, the Théâtre du Petit Montparnasse is staging an unusual play: a biopic performed by the protagonist, Dorine Bourneton, the sole survivor of a crash and the world's first paraplegic female aerobatic pilot.
Until April 26, 2026, the Théâtre du Petit Montparnasse is staging an unusual play: a biopic performed by the protagonist, Dorine Bourneton, the sole survivor of a crash and the world’s first paraplegic female aerobatic pilot.
The story takes place in the early 1990s, on May 12, 1991, to be exact. Dorine Bourneton, a 16-year-old pilot, boards a tourist plane bound for Marignane to meet with Canadair pilots, departing from the Auvergne Aeroclub (near Clermont-Ferrand). The young woman was looking forward to the day, dreaming of a future as a bush pilot, traveling to the four corners of the globe. Unfortunately, the weather conditions were unfavorable. The plane crashed on Mont d’Alambre, a short distance from the Ardèche mountains. All the occupants of the aircraft perished, except her. Seriously injured, Dorine spent a very long time waiting for help, which managed to locate the wreckage of the aircraft after several hours. Saved, miraculously, but not unscathed: she had permanently lost the use of her legs. Paraplegic.
But the young woman refused to give up on her dream, the dream of Icarus. First, she took control of an aircraft. Then she campaigned for the cause of disabled people within the Aéroclub de France, helping to pave the way for them to obtain pilot’s licenses. She took part in aerial operations to fight forest fires. She became the leader of an aerial patrol. She took part in aerobatic demonstrations. She wrote several books…
That was all it took to stage this play in which Dorine Bourneton, who has logged more than 1,200 flight hours, plays herself. A play where anger and laughter follow one another, where gravity is defied, where the stage becomes a cockpit, an obstacle… And speaking of obstacles, it seems that few can resist a woman whom life has certainly deprived of the use of her legs, but whose wings it has certainly not clipped.
Play. “Voltige.” Directed by Éric Métayer. Starring Dorine Bourneton, Mikael Fau, and Yoann Leduc. At the Théâtre du Petit Montparnasse, 31 rue de la Gaîté, 75014 Paris. Until April 26, 2026.