Play explores life of gay power boat pioneer

Joe Carstairs moved to the Isle of Wight and later set up her own boatyard

A play telling the story of one of the Isle of Wight's most flamboyant residents of the 1920s is set to open on the island.

Marion Carstairs - known as Joe - lived an openly gay lifestyle as she pursued a successful career in power boat racing and building.

StoneCrabs Theatre's play, Joe Carstairs, recounts her life and explores her gender identity.

Writer Franko Figueiredo said it was a "wonderful, honest" look at her trailblazing life.

StoneCrabs Theatre's production tells the story of Carstairs' life

Born in London in 1900, Marian Carstairs moved to the Isle of Wight after inheriting her family's fortune.

The press dubbed her "the fastest woman on water" as she found fame driving powerboats and broke the world water speed record in 1927.

Dominic Fontana of the Classic Boat Museum in Cowes said she was "fearless" in the pioneering era of power boats and in her lifestyle.

"She set about leading her life in the most adventurous and fantastic way - clearly having a great time with her girlfriends," he said.

She went on to buy an island in the Bahamas were she continued her lavish lifestyle with celebrity parties before moving to Florida in 1974. She died in 1993, aged 93.

Her story has been brought to the stage by the island's StoneCrab Theatre Company, in a production that contrasts society's attitudes in Carstairs' era to those of today.

Mr Figueiredo said: "We were researching the queer history of the island and we came across Joe Carstairs - was she queer, was she non-binary? How would she identify herself now? I thought I really had to make this into a show.

"It's a wonderful, honest look at someone who is a hero for the queer community and who should be well known."

Joe Carstairs is on at the Quay Arts Centre in Newport from Wednesday until Friday.