Move over, Nurse Ratched and Annie Wilkes, there’s a new new Nightingale here to haunt our nightmares. In this first-person thriller, you’ve just awoken after a terrible car accident with your jaw wired shut, but don’t weep or worry: Eusha — played by playwright/performer Elisa Benzer — is here to watch over you. She appears empathetic at first and engages you with gentle humor. But her psycho (or is it psychic?) side slowly starts to slip out, and it eventually becomes clear that Eusha’s idea of treatment won’t be covered by your HMO.

Benzer’s script boldly blends literate, lyrical prose and classic sci-fi philosophy with gruesome, graphic descriptions of painful ways to die. An intense actress, Benzer’s laser-like eye contact and portentous pauses grow more and more unnerving as the tension increases. However, her play’s measured pacing makes for a slow burn that barely begins smoldering by the denouement, which doesn’t entirely deliver the shock I think Benzer expects. Eusha’s story could stand some shaping, and I’m still not certain whether she’s an angel of mercy or death; either way, I definitely know I don’t want this nurse anywhere near my next colonoscopy.

Eusha
Shortgirl Productions
Edmonton Alberta CANADA
Purple
Ages 13 and up
60 minutes
$12
Thursday, May 16th 7:00 PM
Saturday, May 18th 9:30 PM
Sunday, May 19th 8:00 PM
Monday, May 20th 10:45 PM
Friday, May 24th 9:00 PM
Saturday, May 25th 2:30 PM
Sunday, May 26th 9:30 PM  

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This article appears in May 8-14, 2019.