What I’m Here For
★★★★☆ Powerful
Traverse Theatre: Wed 15 – Sat 18 Apr 2026
Review by Hugh Simpson
What I’m Here For, a collaboration between Vanishing Point and Teater Katapult from Aarhus, Denmark, is an intelligent and compelling piece of politically-informed drama.
Detailing a disintegrating health system staffed by similarly collapsing individuals, the play is written by Katapult’s Josephine Eusebius and directed by Vanishing Point’s Matthew Lenton.
Lærke Schjærff Engelbrecht in What I’m Here For. Pic: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan.
Flora (Lærke Schjærff Engelbrecht) is a nurse in an under-staffed, over-stretched hospital who is called in for yet another extra shift and volunteers to look after a demanding older woman in room 33. This comes on top of other duties, including looking after the younger patient in room 22 whose scheduled discharge has been delayed by a mix-up with tragic implications.
Such a conflict – between the motivation of an individual driven by a clear vocation on the one hand, and a crumbling, chaotic health system on the other – is a familiar one in many spheres.
decidedly affecting
Despite the poetic, almost impressionistic nature of a play that is driven as much by the rest of the cast’s narration as by their playing of various roles, this is closer to a television hospital drama than you might expect. Which isn’t a bad thing, as the moral clarity of Flora, and the starkness of the dilemmas this brings, are decidedly affecting.
Throughout, Engelbrecht and Charlotte Trier speak in Danish while Aisha Goodman and Aisha Lawal speak in English (and Mia Dinitzen does both). This is striking and effective, and surtitles in both languages are provided throughout.
Mia Dinitzen, Aisha Goodman, Lærke Schjærff Engelbrecht, Aisha Lawal and Charlotte Trier. Pic: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan
Engelbrecht’s conflicted Flora is a magnetic central figure and the others provide uniformly excellent support. The other cast members usually sit at microphones behind a large illuminated platform which is largely Flora’s domain.
The cast are sometimes narrators, while sometimes they reflect Flora’s faltering interior monologue. The moments when the performers join her on the platform, as characters with their own struggles, have a huge dramatic impact.
striking backdrop
This platform is part of Mai Katsume’s stark, monochrome set, mirrored by the costumes – Flora in white, the others in black. This provides a striking backdrop for the insistent sound design of Mark Melville and Simon Wilkinson’s wonderfully precise lighting.
Aisha Goodman, Lærke Schjærff Engelbrecht, Aisha Lawal and Charlotte Trier. Pic: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan.
There is an austerity to the setting that lends itself well to the extremes of the production; sometimes there is a babble of noise as the demands of the patients multiply uncontrollably, but there are also periods of complete silence. All of this is beautifully judged, although many will find that the haze is overdone at times.
Lenton’s direction adds a poise and control that contrasts effectively with the confusion and alienation that the situation provokes in Flora and others. In the end, this alienation means that the play doesn’t necessarily reach the big emotional pay-off it appears to be striving for, but it is nevertheless a production of real power.
Running time: One hour and 5 minutes (no interval)
Traverse Theatre, 10 Cambridge St, EH1 2ED
Wednesday 15 – Saturday 18 April 2026
Daily: 7.30 pm; Matinee Thurs: 2.30 pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.
Mia Dinitzen, Aisha Goodman, Lærke Schjærff Engelbrecht, Aisha Lawal and Charlotte Trier. Pic: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan.
ENDS
