“Right is right, even if everyone is against it – and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it.”

The story behind William Penn’s life and his quest for justice and religious freedom is possibly not quite so well known in Rickmansworth as the town’s William Penn leisure centre, but a new musical, coming to the early Quaker, philosopher and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania’s former home next week, aims to change all that.

The Perfect City is a new musical based on Penn’s life story which is stopping off in Rickmansworth on its short UK tour – at St Mary’s Church and also the Friends’ Meeting House in Jordans, Bucks, where the man himself is buried in the grounds.

The musical is presented by Echo Time Productions and inspired by the play A Passionate Englishman by Kate Price. It is a powerful and thought-provoking reconstruction of the little-known story of Penn’s remarkable quest to overcome tyranny, injustice and religious persecution in a turbulent England of the 17th Century and to build the perfect community thousands of miles away in America.

Penn lived in Rickmansworth for several years after marrying his first wife, Gulielma Springett, in Chorleywood in 1672. His home was on the site of Basing House, now the Rickmansworth Museum, which has displays and information about his life. The American Friends of William Penn has erected a plaque on the wall by the entrance to Basing House.

Penn’s Rickmansworth home was used to accommodate many other famous preachers on their travels, notably George Fox, the founder of the Society of Friends. In the mid-1670s, persecution of all non-conformists, such as Quakers, began again and many Friends thought of emigrating to America to find security.

In 1681, Penn obtained the grant from King Charles II of a territory in America called Pennsylvania – Penn had wanted the name to be simply Sylvania but the King insisted on prefixing the Penn. William was the owner and governor of this new state, with the power to make laws, and he drafted its constitution.

The first provision was of complete religious freedom to all men believing in one god, and the liberties of man were also stressed, with Indians and settlers being treated equally.

There are still Quakers living in Rickmansworth who attend meetings in Chorleywood, Harrow and Watford, as well as in Jordans.

Local Quaker Jonathan Carmichael says: “It’s exciting to see this new musical exploring themes we still struggle for today – equality, religious tolerance, truth in public life, and the call for radical social reform.

“Who would have thought that Rickmansworth had a famous son prepared to go to prison for his beliefs and who founded an American colony to put them into practice?”