Tim Robbins won an Oscar for his performance as a deeply troubled man suspected of murdering a young woman in Mystic River. The actor is now joining the cast of Embedded starting April 27.

He will also participate in a post-show discussion.

The savagely funny anti-war satire, which questions the wisdom of America invading a country, was to play for about six weeks in New York following its opening in March, but has had two extensions.

Now it has been extended till May 22 with Robbins appearing in every performance. There is no guarantee that it will close on May 22 either, given its continuing popularity.

Robbins, who wrote and directed the show that had its first run in Los Angeles last November, will play two roles: an adviser to the president and a soldier.

The show is set in an oil-rich country called Gomorrah and in Washington, DC. On one hand, it shows how the presidential advisers are trying to manipulate public opinion on the war. On the other, it depicts how reporters accompanying the soldiers are 'embedded'.

At a recent appearance at the end of the performance of Embedded, Robbins said the term was used during the war in Iraq to refer to journalists who were allowed to accompany American troops marching towards Baghdad. They had to agree to a long list of demands that essentially restricted their freedom.

In Robbins's play, a cynical, tough but amusing sergeant ensures the journalists obey his ideas of censorship. Only one journalist has the courage to defy the official, but obviously he is not going to be liked.

Robbins is well known for his support, along with his Oscar-winning wife Susan Sarandon, for left-wing causes. But he is also a shrewd businessman. Unlike many producers who take their shows to Broadway theatres with some 900 seats, he decided to open Embedded at one of the three auditoria at the Public Theatre in New York.

While many plays on Broadway, including the admirable Retreat From Moscow, have failed to recoup the investment, Embedded, which is being staged in a theatre with just about 250 seats, has recovered its cost of less than $1 million.

Reviewers, including those writing for liberal publications such as The New York Times, were not really enthusiastic about the play, calling it contrived and not sufficiently funny.

But a raft of well-known filmmakers like Robert Altman and writers Gore Vidal and Kurt Vonnegut have widely endorsed the show.

Among the few media critics who liked Embedded is John Simpson of BBC. 'Wildly entertaining,' he wrote. 'You will find more truth about war on this stage than you will in most newspapers.'

At a recent discussion about the play, Robbins said it was wrong to say it was attracting only the liberals. Many liberals, including the Democrats, support the war in Iraq, he said. On the other hand, some Republicans who do not like the idea of military adventurism abroad could also appreciate his play, he said.

The Public Theatre box office, 425 Lafayette Street; online at www.publictheater.org and via Telecharge, (212) 239-6200

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