They Came to a City

‘plenty of wit… the performances are excellent’ Time Out

‘a fascinating social document’ The Guardian

‘exhilarating and passionate’ The Times

In 1943 J. B. Priestley wrote They Came to a City as a means of scrutinizing attitudes to the post war world. He recognised that through this horrific period in our history it may be possible for positive change to arise if the social will was there.

Nine characters, all from different social backgrounds are taken out of their lives and placed outside the walls of a strange city. Still unsure whether they are dead or simply dreaming, the great doors to the city open and these very different people enter into a civilisation free from disparity and injustice.

We learn very quickly however, that utopian equality is not everybody’s idea of a perfect world.