One-Woman-Show 'Aysha' Tackles Anxiety & Grief at Rawabet Art Space

They say that the second-greatest fear amongst all humans is death, and that the first is public speaking. So what does it take for a person with anxiety to perform a one-woman show? Actor and director Dalia Khloeif answers that question with ‘Aysha’, a show that puts that ever-terrifying spotlight on not just herself, but her struggles and experiences with mental illness.

Running from September 8th to September 9th at Cairo’s Rawabet Art Space, ‘Aysha’ - which means ‘Alive’ in Arabic - sets itself apart as a brutally honest and personal work. “I suffered for a long time on my own and no one was able to figure out why, not even the doctors. Then years later I figured out it was anxiety,” Kholeif tells CairoScene. “'Aysha' is my way of making people feel like they’re not alone and to help others know how to deal with those struggling with anxiety.”

The actor and director’s performance is a manifestation of her hurdle-ridden journey, one that Khloeif sometimes finds so emotionally draining that there were times when she fell ill before rehearsals. “I was worried that the performance would be triggering for anyone already anxious or unstable, and discussed this with mental health professionals,” Kholeif shares. “But it turned out to be the exact opposite.”

Despite her own misgivings, Khloeif believes in the urgency of translating the mental state on stage to raise awareness on the matter. “The audience is usually split in half,” she says. “People either feel seen and end up loving it, or are unable to get through it all because it’s heavy.”

‘Aysha’ was previously performed in 2018 in D-CAF and in Carthage, Tunisia. Khloeif will soon take her show to Lebanon after she wraps up in Egypt.