In this relatively true story, we follow the 18th-century tale of Mary Read, a woman dressed as a boy since childhood. The day she is captured by pirates, she meets Anne Bonny. The two share a unique, piratey love story until their end.

In Pirate Queens, three players perform the entire play on a four-foot-by-three foot old, wooden crate. Using only their bodies in this small space, they mime all of the props, set pieces and effects and each play many characters.

Pirate Queens was presented at Cannonball's Miniball Festival in March 2024 as a part of the Cannonball Crash series. In the days leading up to that event, Brooke Shilling was announced as a semi-finalist for the Terrence McNally Award for Philadelphia playwrights after sharing this play with the awarding committee. Pirate Queens then premiered at the 2024 Philadelphia Fringe Festival, which was a 2024 Week Two Philly Fringies Frontrunner.