THE story of the world's first femme fatale will be told when a powerful play tours rural Dorset.

Mata Hari: Female Spy will visit Briantspuddle, Winterborne Stickland, Sandford Orcas and Studland between November 9 and 12.

The Great War: while millions of men struggle and fight in the mud and hell of the trenches, one woman's story begs to be told. Mata Hari, the most notorious female spy in history. Or was she?

A hundred years after her execution and inspired by her own words, this is her story.

The evening is presented by Company Gavin Robertson.

Performer Katharine Mary gives a powerful portrayal of a compelling woman, the world's first femme fatale, in a brand new production.

Since her execution on the outskirts of Paris a century ago, the Dutch exotic dancer Margaretha ‘Gretha’ MacLeod, otherwise known as Mata Hari, has been synonymous with female sexual betrayal.

Convicted by the French of passing secrets to the enemy during the first world war, Mata Hari’s prosecutors labelled her as ‘the greatest woman spy of the century’, responsible for sending around 20,000 Allied soldiers to their deaths.

Hari’s status as both a foreigner and a divorcee, who was unrepentant about sleeping with foreign officers, made her a perfect scapegoat in 1917, and now a century later, Company Gavin Robertson brings this fascinating story to life in a compelling new show.

With original music and sound design by Danny Bright, see ‘Mata Hari: Female Spy’ in Sandford Orcas (01963 220208), Winterborne Stickland (01258 880920), Briantspuddle (01929 471002), Saturday November 11, and Studland (01929 450204) from the November 9 to 12. All performances are at 7.30pm. Full details and tickets are available from artsreach.co.uk

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