THE world premiere tour of a new play about Thomas Hardy based on Christopher Nicholson’s novel Winter will be coming to Dorset this autumn.

It will be performed at Dorchester Corn Exchange from Thursday, September 27 to Sunday, September 30 and then heads out on tour with Artsreach for a performance at The Exchange in Sturminster Newton on Wednesday, October 17.

Set in the winter of 1924/1925 and based on true events, A Pure Woman tells the story of 84 year-old Thomas Hardy’s affair of the heart with Gertrude Bugler and the jealousy it inspired in his second wife, Florence.

Gertrude was a young Dorset woman, in her 20s, who played Tess of the D’Urbervilles in the local Hardy Players’ production in Dorchester, adapted by Hardy himself. Florence, in her 40s, had been a muse to Hardy when she was his young secretary while his first wife Emma was still alive. Hardy’s apparent obsession with Gertrude drives Florence into a jealous rage.

Mark Tattersall of Dorchester Arts, co-producers of the play, said: “We are delighted that so many other venues around the country have also booked the play – it’s a very moving and thoughtful piece of theatre and you don’t need to be a Hardy devotee to enjoy it.”

Poignant and elegiac, this love triangle touches on issues of ageing, marriage, the lingering influence of a former partner on a relationship and the regrets of women who have sacrificed their own ambitions for those of their husbands. Its fateful, Hardyesque themes will appeal to audiences of all ages.

A Pure Woman has been dramatised by Simon Reade, who previously adapted Private Peaceful, Pride & Prejudice and the screenplay of Journey’s End.

A Pure Woman, Dorchester Corn Exchange, September 27 to 30, contact Dorchester Arts for tickets.

Also at The Exchange, Sturminster Newton, October 17. Go to artsreach.co.uk for tickets.

Christopher Nicholson, author of the novel Winter, which inspired the play, will be signing copies of the book at the Sturminster Newton performance. Chris will also give a talk on Winter in Sturminster Newton library at 7pm on Thursday October 11.