The venues to which I am invited to speak about my work on the journals of Anne Lister are varied. The latest one was held in York at the York St John University a couple of weeks ago. I had been  approached by Sue Lister (no relation to the Shibden Hall Listers so far as I know) who runs the Real People Theatre group in conjunction with Ann Murray. She asked if I would contribute to a series of short vignettes, the overall theme of which was entitled ANNE LISTER AND HER LADIES. The idea was, to quote Sue, ” to chart the progress of women’s relationships from Anne Lister’s times through to the present.” The show ran for two nights, Monday 10th and Tuesday 11th March. The scenes were entitiled as follows:

Scene 1 (1816) – MARRIAGE?  Marianna tells Anne she is to marry Charles Lawton.

Scene 2 (1918) – FRIENDSHIP? The joy of Armistice Day but what of the future?

Scene 3 (1950s) – IDENTITY? First visit to the Gateways Club in London.

Scene 4 (1970s) – SEPARATISM? Some women want to live apart from men.

Scene 5 (1990s) – IMMIGRATION? How to stay together when your partnership is not recognised.

In each scene the lesbian heroine was named Anne.

The two final contributions to  the programme were:

The Story revealed by the Diaries: a talk by Helena Whitbread

and:

Audience Discussion – led by Jan Bridget.

Despite the chill of a cold March night both performances went very well. To quote Sue Lister once again –

” I would like to congratulate the whole cast for creating memorable scenes and a fascinating insight into lesbian relationships over the centuries. It’s a unique piece of theatre and I look forward to taking it to Shibden Hall on 29 June.