←Recommendations of The Gravediggers Union

We are pleased to support this play! It was a Finalist for the 2023 New Works Festival at Kitchen Dog Theater in Dallas, Texas.

A fun read that I'm eager to see brought to life. Polak really delivers with strong characters and entertaining dialogue that should excite any ensemble - and all set against the backdrop of a graveyard. An unsuspecting take on isolation, love, class, and hope, THE GRAVEDIGGERS UNION is a solid addition and worthy of production.

"The Gravediggers Union" flirts between the inherent mundanity that exists for all humans and the larger, wider, (and in this case deeper) questions of existence, happiness and purpose. If you are a fan of Gen X music, you will appreciate the references in this play (Def Leppard to New Edition); as well as the homage played to the rhythm and poetry of Shakespeare, the characters of Chekhov and the absurdity of Beckett. This is theatre, and I enjoyed the o'erpine nature of it all.

Their priorities are right! Put on a play before anything else. And then Zombies. This group of characters are all so honest and charming in their own way. They may not always like each other but they show up for the group. I love all the iterations of the song. Monologues serve as fantastic glimpses into the heart.

A brilliant capture of life and work in the graveyard featuring the Three Sisters, very fun and well done!

As a weird sort of retelling of Chekhov's Three Sisters by way of Samuel Beckett, The Gravediggers Union is an immensely fun read. A wry and somewhat absurdist humor weaves through the narratives of the various employees at a locally owned graveyard which is in danger of being absorbed by the larger, corporate-owned graveyard nearby. The characters focus hard on the mundane details of their jobs and their dreams for their futures, while shutting out the more macabre aspects of their work. It is as real and relatable as it is whimsical and strange.

Really enjoyed the characters in all their quirkiness and specificity. The play is filled with really great writing and moments that feel true. Surprising and funny, and the sociopolitical aspects of the play - workers digging holes, and the corporate issues the play raises - all of the weaving it takes to manage this without talking down to us is well done. A powerful piece!

Surprising play that somehow manages to place Chekhov's sisters seamlessly in a New Hampshire graveyard. The synopsis doesn't do justice to the complexity of this comedy that weaves existential dread and modern absurdity with themes and characters that we can recognize from the beginning of modernism. All of this seems heady stuff, but Polak's light, breezy style makes this, at its core, a wonderfully fun and entertaining play.

I loved how Brian captures the wonderfully weird people of this small New Hampshire town and fills them with life, despite the fact that they spend their lives taking care of the dead.

In the reading that I saw, the cast was predominantly female, and I really appreciated that Brian wrote this play and these characters so that they can be played by any and all types of people. Would love to see it fully staged!

This play caught me totally by surprise. While listening to a reading of this play, my mind ran laps and laps imagining the many ways this play could be effectively staged. I laughed (a lot), I was touched, and an unexpected monologue towards the end made me cry.

Brian is really funny and really smart. This play captures the essence of small towns while making sharp commentary on how big business intrudes on the lives of people in these settings. Charming, evocative, and moving. I can't wait to see this play staged.