Europe review – refugees shelter in train station as a continent frays

Donmar Warehouse, London
David Greig's 1994 play about yearning for a united Europe as fascists gather strength is deeply resonant

Refugees desperately seek shelter, neo-fascist thugs roam the streets, a whole continent is threatened with chaos. Such is the background to David Greig's richly resonant play, which makes a brilliant opening choice for Michael Longhurst's new reign at the Donmar. If I didn't know the play, from 1994, was the work of a Scottish writer, I'd have guessed it came from the pen of the Swiss-German master, Friedrich Di1/4rrenmatt.

The setting is a defunct railway station in a small European border town chiefly known for its soup and lightbulbs. Sava and Katia, a father and daughter fleeing from war in the former Yugoslavia, settle in the station - and their presence is both a temptation and a provocation. Sava joins the stationmaster in a futile sit-in, and Katia forms a sexual bond with a female porter filled with romantic dreams of Europe. But the refugees also release the anti-migrant hatred of the jobless local youths.