A story of a group of young artists, mainly from privileged backgrounds. The play reflects the insecurity in the air after the First World War and their fears for the future, embodied in Jenny's arbitrary tragedy and the disruption of all their lives caused by the outsider, Peter. Adolf Hitler, who came to power in Germany in 1933.

All three acts take place in the living room of Vera's flat near Chelsea, central London. Vera sleeps in the cluttered hallway and living room of her large flat, mothering her three children, Esther, Jenny and Gordon, and her five lodgers, George, Val, Freda, Jimmy and Laura. Her bohemian artistic life is interrupted by the arrival of Peter, an old friend of Jennys.

Stange Orchestra was first performed in 1932 and was their first hit in London's West End.