Debt, the migrant, and the refugee: Lampedusa on stage

This article discusses Anders Lustgarten’s play, Lampedusa. The play is ostensibly about refugees and the Mediterranean crossing, as well as addressing EU migration, debt, and austerity. The article develops the idea of the debtor in neo-liberal economics suggesting that the refugee is required to become a debtor on settlement. While Lustgarten’s representation of refugees and migrants is not fully realised in that they are not enabled agents in the script or in performance, the article concludes that although the play is thus flawed, its characters’ search for moral restitution creates a thoughtful insight into British society and grounds for hope.