Political Theatre in Theatres

Can Theatre be political and useful in buildings? In a quick development to production period we're talking about a year or so before anything can go on. How can theatre keep up with the intricacies of domestic and forgein policy in that time? Is Theatre the best medium for that?

Recently I've been trying to make a treatment on the role of PFIs in England and Wales and gave up because I felt that the world was changing too quickly for theatre to be useful in the discussion. There's a model for this work that happens out of buildings; of course. And that's awesome. But I'm thinking specifically in buidlings... So if it's not political in that sense what can the Theatre be useful for?

For my taste it's the philosophy of how we live with each other and by ourselves. We should be addressing what is unsaid and undealt with within our communities. We should making plays about Loneliness, Masculinity, Greed,.... The experiences that aren't spoken about and aren't being dealt with or spoken about. The theatre should be a place for us to meditate on the things that we can deal with in the immidiate.

I'm not saying Theatre should give up on Politics. The politics should be present in it as a factor that creates these wider problems. Theatre does not have the capability of responding to evolving stories due to it's very nature. It can how ever respond to the politics that are within us; that are held; that shape us. That's what Theatre can do to create a better world.