It’s the 2000s. Rachel Moss, an American political strategist, has been invited by an unnamed Eastern European country to help a presidential candidate in his electoral fight with a corrupt incumbent. She brings with her socially liberal policies – some politicians might describe her as part of the tofu-eating wokerati. And she brings campaign tactics that are informed by socio-demographic analysis and focus groups.

But her pre-conceptions don’t sit well in the very different political environment she has come to instruct. In a post-communist era, she finds that people are more concerned with employment and subsistence than in abortion and gay rights. And it’s not just in Eastern Europe where these issues are raising their heads. Some years later, back in the USA, an election is looming and many people’s concerns follow similar lines.

Making assumptions about how people’s values line up is a high-risk game and sometimes fault lines appear where we don’t expect them. The complexity of issues explored in The New Real exposes this well.

Do liberal social values always run in parallel with liberal economic values? How should our politics respond to the conspiracy theory that global capitalists are pulling the strings to replace people from somewhere – with their rustbelt nostalgia – by people from anywhere – with their lattes and laptops? Could insurrection ever follow a legitimate election process in a so-called Western democracy?

A brilliantly constructed piece of writing, rising tension and dramatic twists and conflict are at the heart of The New Real. It is only marred by being a little didactic at times and by ending that is somewhat confused as the script attempts to bring together all the threads.

Humour makes the content accessible and enjoyable, and cameos are used to great effect. In one scene, at a meeting amongst political strategists in an innocuous church to avoid detection, shenanigans follow when a priest enters in search of a baptism cloth. In another, the winners of the National Song Contest who will represent the country at Eurovision (seen as a route into popular affections) give a wonderful parody of Abba.

The production shows the strong directing skills of Holly Race Roughan. Set on a traverse stage, the audience is engaged with itself as well as with the action. At times, screens descend on both sides of the stage, projecting video footage of politicians and key events from across the globe from the 1950s onwards, drawing attention to political protests and reminding us of the rhetoric used by world leaders.

Without a set, the focus is on the actors alone and the cast is strong. Standouts are Martina Laird who gives a charismatic performance as Rachel Moss, and Edyta Budnik who plays several minor roles with panache.

The New Real was produced in association with Headlong. It is on at The Other Place, Stratford until 2nd November. For further information see rsc.org.uk.