THE SOUL IN THE MACHINE
SIR GEORGE WILLIAMS – YMCA FOUNDER
“We are more than bodies to be fed to a machine. We are made for more than work. We have souls, we have spirits and somewhere in this dead city there must be a place for those things.”
London, 1844 – Her gutters run with effluent and blood and her skies are choked with the smoke of a hundred factories and foundries, but above the smoke, the stars still shine.
George Williams is a country boy who comes to the city to find his place in the world and to make his mark.
Appalled by the spirit-crushing rhythms of the Worker’s life he fights to spread the light of God, and create a place where the soul can be nurtured.
This is the story of how YMCA began … this is our story.
Commissioned by YMCA, Created by Saltmine Trust, The Soul in the Machine is a play for anyone who works for a living.
