What might have happened if Elizabeth Bennet had ignored Mr. Darcy and pursued the local ladies? That scenario only begins to describe The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister, the incredible, based-on-fact tale of an early 19th century English gentlewoman who “preferred the fairer sex” and recorded her conquests in a coded diary. But get ready — this is no decorous, Jane Austen costume drama. Anne and her beloved Mariana are sneaking off into the woods for a clandestine dalliance in the first five minutes and even manage a romantic bathtub scene.

Anne Lister was a weathly unmarried woman in the early 19th century. Throughout her life she kept diaries which chronicled the details of her everyday life, including her lesbian relationships, her financial concerns, her industrial activities and her work improving Shibden Hall. The diaries contain more than 4,000,000 words and about a sixth of them—those concerning the intimate details of her romantic and sexual relationships—were written in code. The code, derived from a combination of algebra and Ancient Greek, was deciphered in the 1930s. The script was taken from these diaries and adapted by Jane English. Don't miss the Northeast premiere of this spectacular drama!