With an international exploration of the health care system, What I’m Here For stops at Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre as part of its Scottish tour. From the collaborative minds of Vanishing Point, from our home soil, and Danish company, Teatre Katapult, this production draws a parallel to both countries’ health and care infrastructure and the daily challenges faced by those working within it.
We open on Flora (Lærke Schjærff Engelbrecht) smoking on the roof of a hospital. It is the end of her shift but before she goes home to rest, she begins to reflect on the working day that had just unfolded. Memories appear and disappear as Flora struggles to separate fact from fiction. With severe staffing issues and constant pressure in her working environment, Flora’s help is required all around the hospital building. Her inner and outer turmoil builds until she has no choice to let go but at what cost?
At its heart, What I’m Here For is a strong example of contemporary theatre. Borrowing from Brecht, we see the ensemble seated behind the central rostra that makes up the playing space. They speak into microphones, multi-rolling as the various people Flora meets on shift, all buying for the little attention she has to give. Set designer, Mai Katsume, lighting designer, Simon Wilkinson and sound designer and composer, Mark Melville, present a technically collaborative delight. All technical elements come together smoothly to create an atmospheric effect and a constant living, breathing space. A real highlight of this is, in a later part of the show, when the performance moves to a previously unseen place, creating a visually appealing image.
As Flora, Engelbrecht carries the performance with an air of grace. With her dialogue delivered fully in Danish, with integrated captions available in both English and Danish, Engelbrecht’s performance is still striking for those unfamiliar with the Danish language. She does a good job of capturing the stress the nurse is under and how tired she grows throughout the evening. She is backed up by the ensemble who perform in a mix of both languages. While again, performances are strong, voice comes over action. Physically, the performers become quite static and only join Engelbrecht in the playing area on a few occasions before taking their seat again on the dimly lit backspace.
Director Matthew Lenton did a fantastic job at creating images that evoked emotions. It is clear he experimented with proxemics and the idea of fragmented memory. There is no doubt this was a success. However, even with a short run time of an hour, there are times where the approach of making a piece with less physical action can lower engagement levels. With so much time listening to the performers narrate, and following along with the captions, the nice imagery serves as a momentary ‘something to look at’ without any clear action.
What I’m Here For feels like a well-researched and genuine investigation of the crippling health service and is a production that pleases the eye but sometimes can leave the mind wandering before bringing it back with another visual delight.
What I’m Here For runs at the Traverse Theatre until April 18th and tickets can be bought here
https://www.traverse.co.uk/whats-on/event/what-im-here-for-spring-2026
Reviewer: Dylan Mooney
Reviewed: 15th April 2026
North West End UK Rating: