IN this same theatre space, American political playwright Donald Freed has already shown us a straitjacketed President Bush in a mental asylum, in Patient No 1.

The White Crow’s subtitle of Eichmann In Jerusalem gives an indication that this is a much darker exploration of the human soul, and infinitely superior, as far as I’m concerned, to that previous piece.

Inside a glass booth, Adolph Eichmann paces about, holding up his trousers, having been deprived of belt and glasses for fear of suicide attempts.

Into this claustrophobic cell comes stern-looking Israeli psychologist Dr Baum, determined to find the humanity in Eichmann in his role in the Holocaust.

He maintains he was only obeying orders, that he’s legally innocent and “one man with no power”. She wants the answers beneath the answers, determined at all costs to make him own up to what he’s done.

After the interval, the walls are removed and we, the audience, are inside the room with the two antagonists.

There’s no escape – for this Nazi war criminal, an interrogator hiding a secret of her own, or for us from facing up to the horrors of the past that we recognise as being repeated in the present.

Director Damian Cruden’s staging is brilliantly realised, drawing us into the action and gripping from the word go.

He’s aided greatly by Craig Vear’s sound and Christopher Randall’s lighting.

Theatre Royal regular Robert Pickavance is always good, but this is the best I’ve ever seen him as Eichmann, prowling like a caged lion as he tries to duck and dive his responsibility for the Final Solution.

His magnificent performance is perfectly matched by French actress Sonia Petrovna, as Dr Baum, who turns from probing inquisitor into emotionallyhysterical torturer.

She looked wrung out by the curtain call, reflecting how many of the audience must have felt after this shattering experience. Not an easy subject for a play, but Freed’s intelligent writing and Cruden’s production make this one of the best things the Theatre Royal has done for ages.

■ Until May 23. Tickets 01904-623568 or online yorktheatreroyal.co.uk