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The original production:

First performed at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, 21 October 1994. Directed by Philip Howard.

The cast:

Morocco, a local entrepreneur – David Baker
Fret, the stationmaster – Alasdair McCrone
Berlin, a worker – John Kazek
Adele, the porter – Louise Ironside
Katia, a foreigner – Sharon Maharaj
Sava, a foreigner – Finlay Walsh
Horse, a worker – Gregory Haiste
Billy, a shop steward – Michael Nardone.

What the play is about:

'Ours is a small town on the border, at various times on this side, and, at various times, on the other, but always on the border. We’re famous for our soup, for our factory which makes lightbulbs and for being on the border.'

'Europe' is set in autumn, near an unnamed border, near a railway station in a 'small decaying provincial town in Europe.'

The arrival of two foreigners, Sava and Katia, seeking shelter and safety at a deserted station where the trains no longer stop leads to very different responses from the locals. Adele the porter, yearns to travel, while the unemployed workers feel threatened by the new arrivals.

Love and violence ensue as the trains rumble by.

'She doesn't look like she'd be local anywhere'.

'If God was a railwayman then things would stay on track. Things would run smoothly. I’d say God works in head office. I’d say God wears a suit.'

'If I had my time again, I would call the play "Scotland". That border town could just as easily be Motherwell.'
– David Greig.

What we think:

David Greig takes an epic theme of shifting borders and changing identities and gives it convincing dramatic life in human terms He uses the powerful symbols of an empty station and a thundering express train to fine dramatic effect, and fits in an unexpected love story.

'Europe' shows characters on the move, physically and emotionally, some clinging painfully to the certainty of the past, and others reaching out for new destinations and experiences. A play on a global theme, but on an intimate scale.

What others have said:

'The most important playwright to have emerged north of the Border in years. "Europe" is a fierce, compassionate, mighty ambitious drama ... there is the sharp, analytical intelligence, the crackling inventiveness of a real writer buzzing about this gripping play.'
– 'The Scotsman'.

'Greig's play has an in-built power thundering like a train towards a climax where snow falls, wolves gather and, for some, escape becomes a possibility.'
– 'The Guardian'.

'Reviving a play that is old enough to merit revisiting but too young to be called a classic carries a certain risk. What seemed timely and topical a decade ago might now seem tired and trite. The remarkable thing about David Greig’s "Europe", however, is that it speaks even more vividly about our world in 2007 than it did when it was first staged at the Traverse in 1994.'
– 'The List'.

Other plays by David Greig include:

  • 'One way street' (1995)
  • 'The Architect’(1996)
  • 'Caledonia dreaming’(1997)
  • 'The cosmonaut's last message to the woman he once loved in the former Soviet Union' (1999)
  • 'The Speculator'(1999)
  • 'Victoria' (2000)
  • 'Dr Korczak’s Example' (2001)
  • 'Outlying islands' (2002)
  • 'The Bacchae' (2007)
  • 'Damascus' (2007)
  • 'Midsummer' (2008)
  • 'Dunsinane' (2010)
  • 'Peter Pan' (2010).

Further information:

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