Patient No. 1 is a powerful and riveting fable set two years in the future. George W Bush has been admitted to an elite psychiatric clinic, isolated from, and virtually unknown to, the public.

Written by American political playwright, Donald Freed, the world premiere play exposes a tormented, almost childlike President Bush, who has become helpless and in need of severe mental help.

He can't speak, can't function and has been transformed into a highly drugged human robot, not even the words Osama Bin Laden, oil, Sadam Hussein or War on Terror stir him.

His psychiatrist and his last remaining secret service agent try in vain to help him. In the end he explodes into a fire ball of emotion before he meets a fatal end.

Freed's portrayal of Bush aims to demonstrate an America where democracy has been lost, where the once highly-unacceptable concept of torture and pain is now a given and where fascism rules.

By laying bare Bush's unresponsiveness to emotive words, memories and events, Freed aims to expose an America where traditional values of freedom have been simply scrapped and eroded.

Patient No. 1 is uncomfortable theatre but one that reveals startling revelations of the way the most powerful nation in the world could soon be heading.

Superbly acted, it hits a number of uncomfortable home truths on the other side of the Atlantic.

The play runs in York Theatre Royal's Studio Theatre until May 17.

Susannah Berry