Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner (Angels in America) will discuss his latest topical work, Homebody/Kabul, April 22 at Berkeley Repertory Theatre's Roda Theatre. The company's artistic director Tony Taccone will lead the conversation.

Homebody/Kabul follows a British woman fascinated by Afghanistan and her encounter with an Afghan man whose fingers were cruelly severed. In the second part, the woman's husband and daughter search to find her in the nation's capital after she has mysteriously disappeared.

Once slated to play April 19-June 9, Homebody extended at Berkeley Rep through June 23, a month before previews had even begun. More than other stagings of the work, the Berkeley Rep Homebody attracted attention earlier in the year when it looked like the National Endowment for the Arts would hold back its $60,000 grant from the California troupe's production. Soon after the controversy erupted, NEA acting chairman Robert S. Martin bestowed the gift on the Rep.

Kushner and Taccone will talk about the controversial aspects of the play and the collaborative process between the playwright and the director. Questions from the audience will also be fielded.

The discussion begins at 7 PM. Admission is free. No tickets will be distributed, but seating is limited. Doors open at 6:45 PM. The Roda Theatre is located at 2015 Addison Street in downtown Berkeley. Berkeley Rep is on the web at http://www.berkeleyrep.org. — By Christine Ehren