SEE this remarkable new play... but take a deep breath first and have a drop of something handy to calm the nerves afterwards.

The American Pilot is a combination of political thriller and action movie with plenty of comedy thrown in. Like Solstice, its companion in The Other Place this summer, it is concerned with the regional conflicts which blight Europe and the Middle East and, in particular, America's role in them.

The pilot, injured when his aircraft crashes, is cared for and subsequently held captive in a village by a people baffled and divided by his presence. Though the costume of the villagers suggests the Balkans, they could as easily be Iraquis or Iranians if their skins were darker.

David Greig, in this new work, examines the reactions of the villagers, from the simple farmer and his family who wish to care for an injured man, to the trader who sees him as potential profit, to the warlord Captain who sees him as an enemy.

But central to the story is Evie the farmer's daughter, a 16-year-old Joan of Arc in green wellies who represents the face of courage and human compassion and is willing to lay down her life for the pilot. Beautifully and movingly played by Sinead Keenan, she makes the audience long for her to avoid martyrdom. To say whether she does would give away the details of a climactic scene which has to be seen to be believed. It is a sensational, jaw-dropping piece of theatre which gives a brief glimpse of what it's like to be in a war.

The American Pilot runs in repertory until July 9 Box Office: 0870 609 1110.

Review by STEVE EVANS