It's a normal human reaction to begin to ask why you were attacked, and what is the meaning of the attack

Tony Kushner

The play has aroused both controversy and praise for the playwright, who has received many awards - including a Pulitzer and two Tonys - for his seven-hour play Angels In America: A Gay Fantasia On National Themes.

Mr Kushner has said he had already been interested in Afghanistan when he was asked to write a monologue about the country by British actress Kika Markham.

The monologue was then worked up into a play with the help of New York Theatre Workshop artistic director Jim Nicola, coming out at five hours long.

'Fascinated'

The play currently in production is just three hours long and was refined with the help of UK theatre director Declan Donnellan in London.

Mr Kushner told the BBC World Service that his interest in Afghanistan had deepened as he studied the country.

"I'm also very interested in theocrats of all descriptions, so the Taliban fascinated me," he said.

"And the more I've read about Afghan history, the more I've understood that its always had some fairly central role in world affairs.

There's a real appetite for art that helps people explore the meaning of the event

Tony Kushner

"The relevance was always there, we were just not playing particularly close attention, which I think we've all learned now is a dangerous mistake to make," he added.

Some of the lines in the play have taken on a particular resonance in the wake of the 11 September attacks on the US such as the moment when one character says of the Taliban: "They're coming to New York."

'Questions'

But Mr Kuchner said that he was not worried the play might make new Yorkers feel uncomfortable.

"When some thing really terrible happens to you, it's a normal human reaction to begin to ask questions about why you were attacked, and what is the meaning of the attack - and will more attacks be anticipated?"

In fact, Mr Kushner added, the play has tapped into a hunger for information about what has been happening in Afghanistan, and its relevance to the US.

"There's a real appetite for art and any other kind of work that helps people explore the meaning of the event - because the meaning of '9-11' is very much up for grabs right now," he said.