Tricky things, memories. Not always the way you remember them.

When Ben, a successful London lawyer, returns home for his father’s funeral after thirteen years away, he is confronted with uncomfortable truths about the community and family he left behind.

Anders Lustgarten, one of Britain’s bravest and toughest writers of political fiction, produces an unflinching, insightful and utterly hilarious look at sibling rivalry, small town blues and exactly where the new British fascism comes from.

This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere of The City and the Town in February 2023.

Anders Lustgarten is Pearson Playwright-in-Residence at the Finborough Theatre, where his first two plays, The Insurgents (2007) and Enduring Freedom (2008), were produced. Other work includes The Punishment Stories, (shortlisted for the 2007 Verity Bargate Award), an adaptation of Slawomir Mrozek's The Police (BAC 2007), The Sugar-Coated Bullets of the Bourgeoisie (2010) for the National Theatre Studio and If You Don't Let Us Dream Then We Won't Let You Sleep (Royal Court, 2013). Anders is a political activist, has taught on Death Row, been arrested by the Turkish secret police, and holds a PhD in Chinese politics from the University of California. He also won the inaugural Harold Pinter Playwrights Award with a commission from the Royal Court in 2011.