Fringe Festival 2019 continues to showcase a wide range of genres with Eusha, a one-woman horror/thriller show starring actress and playwright Elisa Benzer. This performance submerges the audience in the storytelling, allowing us to get a strong character profile for Eusha, the nurse who is caring for you after a horrific car accident.

One of the biggest things that stands out with Eusha is Elisa Benzer’s performance. At first, Eusha seems a bit eccentric, trying to connect with and comfort the audience, but still enthusiastically describing ailments and medical conditions. Benzer displays a wide range of emotions as she descends into madness, and all of them seem genuine. She will suddenly get angry but then immediately go back to the comforting, soothing tone of voice.

The 60-minute play is also very well-written and knows how to pace itself. It doesn’t start off as a journey into madness, it starts calmly. We see a slow progression of emotion which allows us to connect more with the Eusha character.

Eusha has a very simplistic, yet effective setup that uses everything to its advantage. The beautiful snapdragons that are brought out to “bring you comfort” during your recovery made me uneasy. The use of lighting and the fact that I was seated made it easier for me to picture myself in the role of the hospital patient as Eusha addressed the audience. All in all, Eusha is a well-crafted performance that showcases Benzer’s range of emotions quite nicely. It’s scary, but a lot of fun to watch.