A valuable fresco is discovered in a church in war-torn Eastern Europe. As international and local art historians argue over who should claim ownership, the fate of the painting becomes a metaphor for the future of the emergent nations of Eastern Europe.

David Edgar's play Pentecost was first performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company at The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon, in October 1994. The production transferred to the Young Vic, London, with performances from 31 May 1995. It went on to win the 1995 Evening Standard Award for Best Play.

Pentecost is part of David Edgar's trilogy of plays about post-Communist Eastern Europe, which also includes The Prisoner's Dilemma and The Shape of the Table.