Amongst Barbarians is

• a play (1989) by British playwright Michael Wall
  Michael Wall
  Michael Wall , was a British playwright. He wrote over forty plays, the most well-known of which are Amongst Barbarians and Women Laughing....
  
   first performed at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
  Manchester
  Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
  
   prior to a transfer to the Hampstead Theatre
  Hampstead Theatre
  Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in the vicinity of Swiss Cottage and Belsize Park, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. In 2009 it celebrates its 50 year anniversary.The original theatre was...
  
   in London
  London
  London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
  
   ; and

• a British made-for-TV movie (1990) directed by Jane Howell starring David Jason
  David Jason
  Sir David John White, OBE , better known by his stage name David Jason, is an English BAFTA award-winning actor. He is best known as the main character Derek "Del Boy" Trotter on the BBC sit-com Only Fools and Horses from 1981, the voice of Mr Toad in The Wind In The Willows and as detective Jack...
  
  , Anne Carroll, Rowena Cooper
  Rowena Cooper
  Rowena Cooper is an actress who appeared in the last three series of Rumpole of the Bailey as the wife of Chambers Head Sam Ballard; and also appeared in other roles on television. She is married to actor Terrence Hardiman.-Notes:...
  
  , Con O'Neill
  Con O'Neill (actor)
  Robert "Con" O'Neill is a British actor. He began his acting career at Liverpool's Everyman Youth Theatre....
  
    and Lee Ross
  Lee Ross (actor)
  Lee Ross is an English professional actor best known for his role as Dodger in Dodger, Bonzo and the Rest. He has also starred in, Press Gang, Secrets & Lies, The Catherine Tate Show and most recently as Owen Turner in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.-Career:His first acting role was as Fat Sam in...
  
  .

Amongst Barbarians is set far away from Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...

's Britain in Penang

Penang

Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...

, Malaysia, a former British colony, where two young Englishmen have been arrested for drug trafficking

Illegal drug trade

The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...

. As they both face the death penalty, their relatives travel to Penang to come to their rescue. However, they soon find out that there is nothing they can do to save the boys' lives. In the course of their futile attempts at influencing the authorities, their racism

Racism

Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...

 becomes more than apparent. The question which is never made explicit is of course who the real barbarian

Barbarian

Barbarian and savage are terms used to refer to a person who is perceived to be uncivilized. The word is often used either in a general reference to a member of a nation or ethnos, typically a tribal society as seen by an urban civilization either viewed as inferior, or admired as a noble savage...

s are.

Wall's play is based on a true story.