An international group of observers arrives in a West African country to oversee and rubber stamp its first democratic election. New voters queue in their thousands, but a senior member of the observation team finds herself both horrified by the president's suppressive tactics and, for once, in a position to do something about it.

Yet as violence on the streets escalates and the country enters freefall, an increasingly angry young translator forces this well-meaning outsider to confront the impact of her intervention.

People walked for six miles to vote. I've been doing this job for twelve years and I'm telling you that for the first time in what feels like a lifetime we can do something real here.

The Observer by Matt Charman premiered at the National Theatre, London, in May 2009.