The project began with a group of actors exploring classical stories of war and exile, including the Iliad and the Bhagavad Gita. We focused on the image of a city torn apart by an endless cycle of conflict within its ruling family — while ordinary citizens always pay the cost. 

We then worked with young people, many from migrant and refugee backgrounds, who helped us develop a unique structure for the play: a “museum” of rooms telling the story of the city through time. Their ideas shaped the form of the production and inspired the immersive journey audiences will take underground.

We interviewed refugees from Ukraine and Syria, gathering personal stories of displacement, fear, resilience and hope. These testimonies were woven into the play, finding powerful echoes in the ancient myths we had been exploring.

We collaborated with dancers and musicians to experiment with storytelling through movement, rhythm and sound, building a physical language that connects mythic scenes with contemporary experience. Throughout the process, we shared our work with community groups to gather feedback and refine the emerging story.

The project brings together diverse communities - British Asian, British Black and East European, drawing on their diverse stories, cultural traditions and mythologies, and interlacing them into a shared narrative.