“I don’t scare easily. I once rode a llama!”

Indeed, which is us hasn’t said that at some stage? But for this play’s central character, Alice, it pretty much sums her up. She likes to sit on the bench and eat her sandwiches. She can chat, if you want to, or she can just sit. Barry hates his life, more specifically, he hates his dog and his job. He used to dream of speaking directly to the fabric of the universe. He sells paperclips and has a dog that torments him. Cressida is in trouble. She is sinking under a mountain of credit card debt and has decide that crime is the only way out. Sadly, she is a rotten criminal, with a curious love-life, and is also the government spokesperson on credit card debt. These three meet at the bench. Has Alice been sent to fix their wretched lives? No, of course not. She can help them face their problems themselves. Or – she could just eat her sandwiches.

A great choice for a festival play – at the 2013 Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers One-Act Play Writing Competition The Bench was awarded both Best Play and the Audience Choice awards, garnering further awards at festivals since.