The debut play of Michael Hastings, Don’t Destroy Me was written and staged in 1956, when Hastings was just 18. Inspired by the fraught dynamics of his own family, it is set as well in 1956. The drama’s protagonist is 15-year-old Sammy, who moves in with his father, Leo, an alcoholic in a tiny London flat. Leo is also a Hungarian who escaped the Nazis. The Arcola Theatre is known for finding and producing lost gems. This is the show’s first-ever revival. —Jensen Davis