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is the shining knight of political theatre, so when he writes a new play, it is often viewed as a theatrical Event with a capital 'E'.

His new play, , which opened at the National theatre last night, comes with a fair amount of pre-publicity. It features a cast of characters who bear a strong resemblance to cabinet members and close confidantes of the former Prime Minister, Tony Blair. Sir David, though, is adamant that Gethsemane is pure fiction - and that is true, at least in the sense that the dialogue is all imagined.

This is his third play at the National to draw on public events. The first, , was pure fact, transcribed. , about the events which led to the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was one third transcribed and two thirds imagined.

None of this really matters. What does matter is that, this time, Sir David has chosen to tackle the prescient topic of the separation of Politics from Vision.

The Home Secretary, Meredith Guest (Tamsin Grieg, once again showing how deftly she can hold an audience) is married to a wealthy businessman, whose "innovative" portfolio has resulted in him facing charges in a country where English is not spoken. Their teenage daughter, Suzette (brilliantly played by Jessica Raine), is caught smoking dope. The party's chief fundraiser, Otto Fallon (Stanley Townsend, surely informed by Lord Levy, former chief fundraiser and close friend of Tony Blair) uses his influence to keep a lid on the story. To make matters murkier, Suzette is embroiled in a sex scandal involving, among others, a journalist - who, although prevailed upon to keep quiet, exposes the whole story.

You know you are in a David Hare play when the opening sees a character swathed in flattering light, walking onto the stage and addressing the audience directly about belief and doubt. She is Lori, (Nicola Walker), an idealistic former teacher and the moral conscience of the piece. Her husband, Mike, (Daniel Ryan) works for Otto Fallon, but by the end of the play is disillusioned with the dubious practices at the heart of fund-raising.

It is possible to see this play and spend the evening wondering which real person really said what; and what storylines are conflated together to create an entertaining mix of the machinations of powerful people in business, politics and the media. But that would be to miss Sir David's point. He wants us to ponder on whether it is unreasonable to expect a higher calling in politics than mere survival and possibly benefiting financially from getting into bed with big business. He doesn't have many answers, but he poses important questions and reminds us that theatre can feel vital as an artform.