AFTER too long an absence on the Hereford amateur stage, Wye Theatre’s forthcoming production, They Came to a City, will bring the work of one of England’s greatest writers to a new generation of theatre goers.
They Came to a City was written by J B Priestley in 1943 when Britain was in the depths of the Second World War. He wanted to give a message of hope and the promise of a better world and took some lines from Walt Whitman as his theme: “I dreamt in a dream I saw a city invincible to the attacks of the whole earth, I dreamt that was the new city of friends...”
The play unfolds around the lives of nine characters, all from different social backgrounds, who 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 they enter into a civilization free from inequality and injustice. For some, it’s a utopia, for others, a nightmare. And each must make the decision whether to stay or go.
The play is a timeless cri de coeur for social justice that will resonate as strongly today as it did in 1943.
They Came to a City is at the Powell Theatre, Church Street, on May 16, 17 and 18 at 7.30pm. Tickets available on the door or in advance from The Outback in Church Street or at wyetheatre.co.uk/nextproduction.
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