Had your critic arrived a minute or two late at the Oxford Playhouse on Wednesday night, this space would now contain something other than a review of DV8's powerful new show, To Be Straight With You. Were I to have been caught short during the 80 minutes of interval-less performance, the review would have concerned only a partially seen production, for there would have been "unfortunately" - the word of the company's announcer - no readmission. But the risk of a strained bladder had, admittedly, been lessened by another DV8 ukase that had denied me (and any other thirsty patrons) a drink at the bar in the five minutes before the show began.

All this bossiness would have been irritating at any time, but it seemed particularly perverse as a feature of a production concerned - as this one is - with issues of freedom. Specifically, its concern is with the freedom and right of people to love whom they choose, regardless of gender and race, without the interference of religious groups or governments.

Powerful polemicists in the gay cause throughout their 20-year history, DV8 can surely not have tackled a thornier issue, one which brings head-on conflict with organised religions, Muslim and Christian particularly. As the show's director (and conceiver) Lloyd Newson explains in a lucid programme note: "Recent events raise the question of how a society reconciles religious beliefs with human rights that should be available to everyone regardless of their sexual orientation, gender or race."

The issue is aired in its various aspects through contributions of many 'witnesses' portrayed by the nine-strong team of multi-racial performers. They range from a ranting rapper urging that 'batty boys' be shot in the head, to an Imam recounting how his gay life is hidden from his wife and children. Every word we hear on stage was recorded by researchers during a series of vox pop interviews in 2006/7.

As you would expect from a company whose work is rooted in dance, these speeches are not delivered straight but are accompanied by movement - sometimes just from the speaker; occasionally from the whole company. A spontaneous round of applause was earned on opening night by an astonishing display of virtuoso skipping from Ankur Bahl as he recounted a young Asian man's joy in his new gay life.

A hugely impressive technical feat offers one performer inside a transparent globe, shifting countries and continents as he shows the hot spots of intolerance towards gays. Another presents a company member as a live contributor to a cartoon strip, moving from box to box in a video projection as the story continues. There is musical accompaniment throughout from an eclectic range of artists, including Mika, Justin Timberlake, Shakira and Four Tet.

If the show has a fault, it is, as I saw it, its assumption of a sympathetic audience. But then, since its arguments are so patently sound and right, this is probably as it should be.

To Be Straight With You continues until tomorrow. Don't miss it - and don't be late.

Box office: telephone 01865 305305 (www.oxfordplayhouse.com).