Suspense and espionage come to Canberra with the White Mouse

Posted on 11 February, 2026

A new play at The Street Theatre takes audiences on a suspenseful and dangerous journey through World War II France with Nancy Wake, whose opposition to the occupying Nazi forces earned her the name of ‘the White Mouse’.

Moving between 1944 in France and her later life in Australia long after the war, La Souris Blanche (The White Mouse), explores the lasting effects Nancy Wake’s famous exploits had on her life. With wit, courage and audacity, she evaded capture while leading dangerous missions that earned her the title of the Gestapo’s most wanted woman.

Nancy Wake is played by two actors in these different time periods, Natalia Nour in the 1940s and Ioanna Gagani as she reflects back on her life. Joining them is Damien Kenny as Nancy’s husband, Henri the wealthy Frenchman with whom she had a loving but not straightforward marriage. The cast perform in French, with English subtitles projected on stage.

For Natalia, who was born in Romania and grew up in France, taking on the role of the New Zealand-Australian Nancy was an opportunity to explore a part of history she didn’t know much about. Nancy’s experience of living in a new country during extraordinary times was also a common link Natalia found with her subject.

“After completing a Masters of Engineering in France, I moved to Australia at the start of 2020 to study acting. There is a line in the play where Nancy talks about the air in France being different to what she’d known, and that’s exactly what I felt when I landed in Sydney.

“The play unpeels the layers of the famous ‘White Mouse’ and explores her relationship with her home country and her adopted country. It’s paradox in many ways, the more we try to understand her the more we see the unpredictability of her life,” Natalia says.

One of the play’s emotional elements is the relationship between Nancy and Henri. Showing them together in France as her work with the French Resistance becomes increasingly dangerous – and later when Nancy conjures him to her later in life – the play explores the complexity of their marriage and what each gave up in a time of war.

The play opens with an older Nancy disillusioned with her own story and in a dark moment, remembering mistakes and their consequences. Natalia says it was important that her portrayal of younger Nancy didn’t let a sense of fatality creep in, and to stay in the present moment of her life in the 1940s, making decisions when she didn’t know where they would lead.

“It takes a lot of courage to face your fears and do what you feel you’re called for,” Natalia says. “Even when you feel doubt that you do it, fall and get back up. She was courageous and I want people to know her story.”

Souris Blanche (The White Mouse) is written by Christine Croyden, translated into French by Véronique Duché and directed by Louise Howlett.

Leaving a lasting impact of one woman’s extraordinary life, it premiered in Melbourne to sold out audiences and runs at The Street Theatre from Wednesday 18 until Friday 20 February.