EUSHA by Elisa Benzer (Shortgirl Productions/Fringe). At the Tarragon Extraspace. July 8 at 7:45 pm, July 10 at 4:15 pm, July 12 at 2:30 pm, July 14 at 7:45 pm. See listing. Rating: NNN
Spare and delivered with amazing clarity by writer/performer Elisa Benzer, this solo turn imagines a nurse who takes human suffering into her own hands. “If you hear them, you can help them,” the voices in Eusha’s head tell her.
While the text is poetic, almost gothic at times, it’s the clever staging here that keeps things moving along – a vase of snapdragons charts the passage of time, the dimming of lights track the consciousness of “the patient.”
Benzer and director Christine Lesiuk both have backgrounds doing comedy, but they play this one dead straight, with no overt attempts for laughs. It’s an interesting choice and makes the show both creepier and less engaging than it might otherwise be.
There is definitely a sense of dawning horror for the audience, but we see it coming a mile away. Nothing to do but squirm and endure.
