PLAYWRIGHT Neil Duffield has an admission to make.

"I confess I'd never heard of it; I thought I'd read pretty much all his novels, so when Juliet Forster approached me about writing a play, I confessed I didn't know the book," he says.

The book in question is E M Forster's unexpected 1909 detour into science-fiction in his prescient short story The Machine Stops, now so skilfully adapted by Duffield for York Theatre Royal and Pilot Theatre's co-production in the Theatre Royal Studio.

"When I did then read it, I was just knocked out by how prophetic it was, so I rang Juliet back and said yes," says Neil, who was struck by E M Forster's vision of a human society driven underground, restricted to separate cells with no physical contact, communicating solely electronically, under the rule of The Machine.

"He's not known for writing science-fiction, is he, so I was surprised by this book, and what really hit me wasn't just that Forster had predicted things like Skype and the internet but also that he explored what effect they might have on our minds, our bodies, our culture, our philosophy, every aspect of ourselves as human beings."

Analysing the story, Neil says: "It's very epic but it's also about a mother and son. Our whole existence as the human race is under his scrutiny, but he explores it through a mother and son's relationship. From being an historical piece, which a lot of science fiction is, Forster's book is now more relevant than ever because these technological advances now exist."

Presenting The Machine Stops on stage emphasises the contrast between Forster's machine-driven world and the world of theatre. "It's the difference between the screen in your home, or the screen you carry in your pocket and the act of going to the theatre, when you properly communicate with each other," says Neil.

Duffield has done plenty of book adaptations for the stage and The Machine Stops has been one of his most satisfying. "Some pieces work well as novels and don't transfer well, taking a lot of work to put on stage, but this book didn't need that," he says.

"In terms of plot and theme, it needed very little adapting. The one problem is that there's a lot of description in it, creating the world he's imagining, so you have to find a way of changing that into being accessible to an audience.

"In discussions with Juliet very early on, we took the decision not to try to physically create Forster's world, but to do so through movement, words and music, which is what theatre has always been about."

York Theatre Royal and Pilot Theatre's The Machine Stops runs in The Studio, York Theatre Royal, until June 4. Box office: 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk