THE MOTHER of a Home and Away actress is bringing her play about Anne Bronte to Haworth with a cast of Australian actors.

The Lost Voice of Anne Bronte is described as a Gothic tale of torment, tragedy and treachery.

It comes to the Old Schoolroom, Haworth, on April 17-19 after a well-received premiere in Sydney where the city’s Morning Herald called it a “solidly engaging” play.

The play is written by Leeds-born Cate Whittaker whose daughter Aleetza Wood played Peta Janossi in the Australian TV soap two decades ago.

Cate said the play, part of the Bronte Society’s celebration of Anne Bronte’s 200th anniversary year, would give the writer back her lost voice.

She said: “The young cast are extremely excited to be coming with this moving and powerful story around the tormented, tragic, treacherous lives of the Bronte siblings and the slow rise of Anne from a shy, sweet sickly girl to become a powerful force.

“She shocks the nation in her revelation of wife abuse in her second novel The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, then when the critics try to close her down she comes back with a blistering attack on them in the preface to the second edition.

“She dies before she can publish it and sister Charlotte, fearful of the effect on her and Anne’s reputation, refuses its publication denying Anne her rightful place in history.”

Cate began writing plays at the age of nine and won a place at the National Youth Theatre, but gave up her dream becoming a playwright as adult life intervened.

She married, completed a Social Science Honours degree, worked for an accountancy firm, did a Dip Ed, set up her own pre-school, then had two daughters.

Job transfers took the family first to Germany then in 1983 to Australia, and after daughter Aleetza became an actress Cate began writing scripts for her.

Cate’s last play Forgotten, based on the female convict rebellion of 1827 in Parramatta Factory Prison, was a sell-out success last year in Australia.

The Lost Voice of Anne Bronte won praise from critics for both its script and performances. The Lost Voice of Anne Bronte can be seen each day at 1.30pm and 7pm.

Visit trybooking.co.uk or bronte.org.uk to book tickets.

Celebrations of Anne Bronte centre on the Bronte Parsonage Museum in Haworth, where there is a year-long exhibition devoted to the writer’s life and work, entitled Amid the Brave and Strong.

A museum spokesman said: “Anne’s life and work have had much less exploration than those of her sisters.

"The new exhibition delves into key elements of Anne’s life, from her childhood at the Parsonage to how her legacy has been shaped by others since her death.

“Anne’s strong moral beliefs led her to write for purpose as well as pleasure, something which shocked and excited her readers.

Anne’s novels include The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, considered to be one of the first sustained feminist novels in English literature.

Highlights of the exhibition include Anne’s poignant last letter, Charlotte’s first ‘little book’ written specially for Anne, a copy of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall that Anne gave a close friend, and a portrait of Anne by Charlotte along with the necklace worn by her in the picture.

The museum has organised a calligraphy retreat with Phylecia Sutherland from March 13-15, based at the nearby Weavers Guesthouse.

There are beginners’ calligraphy and lettering workshops each day, a chance for participants to tread the moors like a true Bronte with an optional moorland walk, and an opportunity to view handwritten Bronte manuscripts and treasures up close in the museum’s research library.

Visit bronte.org.uk for information about event taking place this year.