Ten minutes for ten dollars—at a dollar per minute, this micro Fringe performance packs a punch. Actor Esther Smith and director Cheryl Amos bring Lindsey Brown’s one-woman play Margot’s Bench to life in Knox Church’s unassuming Matheson Room. This performance is the perfect fit for theatre-curious friends and family who might not be ready to commit to a longer show and who can be bribed with an ice cream across the street after the show. Smith and Amos deliver on the play’s promised laughter and intrigue, and the short format and unusual space highlight Fringe’s inventive possibilities.

For such a modest space and runtime, the turnout was fantastic. Almost fifty audience members were packed in the room, laughing and gasping as the story unfolded. The team evokes the play’s windswept cliff cleverly with minimal props and set. A garland of cloth scraps in blues, greens, and whites conjures furious sea spray and tarps, painted gray and scrunched up, summon rocky crags. The titular bench, elevated on one of these imagined boulders, was beneficial for sightlines in the small space, although staggering the seating could have improved sightlines further.

Smith proves to be a terrific character actor—at times quivering and feeble and at others agile like a homicidal cat (or are all cats homicidal?). The fourth-wall-breaking script provides ample opportunities for Smith to engage the audience. She has a strong command of what could have been a nerve wrackingly intimate space. Her clear and consistent eyelines provided a strong visual focus, immersing me in the world of the play and allowing me to imagine the perilous cliff easily. Her hand pantomimes are a particular highlight, and well-timed sound effects add to the performance’s levity.

This well-done performance is a testament to both Smith and Amos, and audiences can certainly expect a high return on their investment: ten minutes packed full of laughs.

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