Scala: Why Are You Looking?

A woman walks into a restaurant and looses touch with reality. She launches into a monologue, analysing her every action, commenting on her dining companion and the other guests, playing with her food and frequently freaking out. For almost an hour, Anna Hermanns leads the audience into her personal hell.

Difficult as this sounds – and there is little humour in here – Hermanns makes a convincing impression of the disorientation and tangents of panic. Without melodrama or screaming, she coolly deconstructs a dining experience, mocking the weight and rigidity of those around her before finally reuniting with reality at the end of the meal.

Ultimately, Scala does not fully engage: Hermanns is too specific, lacking any real connection with more universal anxieties and never quite finding the symbolism in the detail. Her performance is brave and gripping, however, and the use of a soundscape gives her monologue an immersive ambience.