The timing and setting of Bond's latest play is non-specific, with the theme being timeless. It is a tragedy about the futility of war. In wartime, as communication and society break down, both soldiers and civilians are led to acts of barbarism and self-destruction.

A young man alone in a room. A stranger enters. Together they journey into a dark forest...Coffee centres around the death of a child and asks disturbing questions about the history of the 20th century through an examination of what constitutes "acceptable" behaviour towards children in our time.Edward Bond is "a great playwright - many, particularly in continental Europe, would say the greatest living English playwright" (Independent)