They, created by Maxine Peake, Sarah Frankcom and Imogen Knight, adapted from Kay Dick's 1977 dystopian novel They: A Sequence of Unease, was performed in the historic John Rylands Library as part of 2023's Manchester International Festival.
A filmed version, directed for screen by Joseph Lynn, can be seen at Manchester's Aviva Studios on 8 March and on demand on Factory International’s online platform Factory+ from 9 March.
Imagine a near-future where creative expression is outlawed, all art eradicated and any resistance takes enormous courage. Would it be enough to go on quietly creating for yourself? To memorise your favourite passages before all books disappear?
Peake, Frankcom and Knight previously collaborated on MIF projects The Masque of Anarchy (2013), The Skriker (2015) and The Nico Project (2019). They have formed the company MAAT—a "collective adventure to make new work in conversation with Music, Art, Activism and Theatre"—which will present a new adaptation of John Bowen's Robin Redbreast at Aviva Studios in May.