‘Why did you have to come here?” is the underlying question put by a war-exhausted community trying to cope with an unexpected arrival. The American pilot has crashed, is injured and has been brought to apparent safety by the Farmer, a simple man with a thoughtful wife and unusual daughter.

But what is to be done with this alien figure almost literally parachuted into treacherous territory? Suspicion, fear, envy, self-protection and power: so many seething emotions were brought to bear in this clever Oxford Theatre Guild production, directed by Colin Macnee. There is a major communication problem, too, with only two locals speaking even basic English: the creepy Translator (James Silk) and the Farmer’s daughter Evie (beautifully played by Audrina Oakes-Cottrell). John Mansfield as the Pilot is almost immobile throughout this drama, watching and reacting as decisions are made about his future.

The lead decision-maker is the Captain, played with commendable stage presence by Bob Booth. He’s been fighting in “the Valley” for 35 years, wishes (slightly humorously) that he was still in exile in Oslo and hates all Americans. This pilot is going to be killed. A video camera is set up and a pistol drawn.

But there’s a twist in this play, written by David Greig and first produced by the RSC in 2005. In line with the undoubtedly allegorical nature of the piece, the Captain undergoes a conversion at the last minute and is about to devolve his responsibilities to Evie after she speaks of having had a vision.

And then the clatter of helicopter rotors is heard and in a remarkably effective piece of theatricality – especially in the small space that is the North Wall – the Pilot and Evie are hoisted aloft as all the other characters – nice and nasty – are shot.

At this point, the rather fragile subtleties of the play are blown away and one is merely left predictably angry with Americans.

If that was the writer’s intention, then it’s annoying, but he certainly led up to it in clever and thoughtful ways – very well expressed in this OTG show.