THE York Theatre Royal and Pilot Theatre production of E M Forster's sci-fi 1909 short story The Machine Stops is to be revived for a second run in York before embarking on a national tour.

Such was the popularity of Neil Duffield's adaptation that after playing three venues in 2016, the new cast will be performing at ten locations, opening at the Theatre Royal Studio from February 10 to 18.

"It makes it easier to sell when a show has done so well," says director Juliet Forster (no relation of EM), the Theatre Royal's associate director. "At a time when touring theatre is a difficult challenge, Pilot are thinking about whether this might be a good model: starting here in York, doing a short tour, then expanding it when doing it again, which were keen to do with this play as we wanted to take it to a wider audience."

Now more than a century past its publication date, The Machine Stops foresees a world where humans have retreated underground and are reliant on the Machine for their every need, as Forster presents a chilling prediction of our relationship with technology. Only Kuno questions the planet's dependency on the Machine but in his struggle to break free from its control, can he reach the Earth's surface before the Machine stops?

Maria Gray returns to the cast as the Machine in partnership with company newcomer Adam Slynn, while Rohan Nedd will play Kuno and Ricky Butt his mother Vashti.

"I'm really pleased we have the cornerstone of keeping Maria because of the amount of work she did on creating the character of the Machine, and now we know it's a successful piece, we can really build on that with the new cast members," says Juliet.

Analysing the reasons why The Machine Stops has transferred so convincingly to the stage, she suggests: "When you use human beings to the height of their potential, theatre is at its most interesting; when you realise the incredible ability of human body; but at the same time, you can't shoehorn that into a play. Here, though, to represent the Machine through movement, it absolutely suited it.

"It also helped that we had the finest soundtrack for a play in living memory, composed by electronic music pioneer John Foxx and analogue synth specialist Benghe. Their soundtrack album will come out at the same time we do the tour."

York tickets are on sale at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk and on 01904 623568.