Lampedusa builds empathy in a world gone mad
OAnd often, those people aren’t showing up alive.
– Lampedusa director Richard Wolfe
n the surface, the two central characters in Pi Theatre’s upcoming production of Lampedusa don’t have much in common. Anders Lustgarten’s play revolves around Stefano, an Italian fisherman who rescues migrants from the Mediterranean Sea, and Denise, a biracial British paydayloan collector.
These characters don’t interact, Lampedusa director Richard Wolfe tells the Straight by phone. Instead, the play goes back and forth between them with interwoven themes that seem to proceed on a parallel track.
“Both of the main characters are closed and they’ve got their shields up to protect themselves against the things that are coming at them in the world,” the Pi Theatre artistic director says. “But through these friendships they develop with these other people, they rediscover their warmth and humanity. I think it’s a beautiful sort of takeaway for us.”
The title comes from the 20-squarekilometre Italian island of Lampedusa off the eastern coast of Tunisia and just north of Libya. During the past two decades, it has become a prime transit point for many thousands of Africans and Middle Easterners hoping to migrate to Europe. In 2015, about 1,600 people died making this journey.
“We have a tendency to want to simplify everything so we can take a moral judgment on it easily, because it feels good and we’re convinced that we’re right,” Wolfe says.
However, he suggests that there’s a great deal of complexity to this issue, which is reflected in the character of Stefano, played by Robert Garry Haacke. Even though Lampedusa residents have been hospitable to the migrants, tensions have also arisen, as they were overwhelmed with thousands and thousands of people showing up every year.
“And often,” Wolfe adds, “those people aren’t showing up alive. They’re showing up as dead bodies that have to be dealt with.”
To reinforce the mood, sound designer and composer Steve Charles incorporates music from Mali, where some migrants came from. The playing area covers the entire floor of the Cultch’s Culture Lab.
“So when the audience walks in, there will be the seats, obviously,” Wolfe says. “But everything else is the set, basically.”
The director also points out that there’s a lot of “dark British humour” in the segments with Denise, who is played by Melissa Oei. She’s living in Leeds and doesn’t have much patience for those who can’t repay their debts.
According to Wolfe, both characters have found jobs where they’re “essentially cleaning up the mess left by the system and those who benefit hugely from it”.
Wolfe acknowledges that a play centred around migration and payday-loan companies may sound a little grim, but he emphasizes that this production is not going to leave theatregoers feeling battered at a time when they’re already coping with so many other difficult issues in the world. Rather, he describes Lampedusa as a show that explores human beings’ capacity for empathy, love, and generosity.
“I think this play will allow the audience to leave the theatre feeling almost cleansed, in a way,” Wolfe says. “And they’ll feel good because they’ll see an instance or a representation of people who embrace their humanity—but discover that through their contact with others.” g
Pi Theatre presents the Canadian premiere of Anders Lustgarten’s Lampedusa at the Vancity Culture Lab from May 5 to 21 (except May 9 and 16), with opening night on Friday (May 6).