Our interrelation to the world and people in it is essentially what existence boils down to. Daniel Prillaman's 'Bereavement Leave' is a pitch-black satire of workplace operations as life, the circadian imminence of death, and the weight of making the world go round. One cannot avoid the Kafkaesque dealings we endure in this eternal puzzle for peace, for if you did isn't that just another form of decease? Which is the greater mystery, living or dying? Solemn themes synergize with cunning comedy.

Prillaman works expertly in layers of dread. Is the true impending doom the everyday dullness of the job? Or this bizarre plot? This being a Daniel Prillaman play, the answer is Yes, yes, and oh, baby, just you wait. The comedy makes the horror so much more horrifying, the horror makes the comedy even more batshit. Layers upon layers upon layers.
BEREAVEMENT LEAVE is the WORST play to see/read after a long week of work. BEREAVEMENT LEAVE is the BEST play to see/read after a long week of work.

Prillaman is one of the most interesting, unique playwrights I’ve found on NPX. His ability to serve up absurdity and surrealism seems effortless, seamlessly mixing the extraordinary and the mundane. In Bereavement Leave, we follow office co-workers through a typical week in a not-so-typical workplace. What I admired most about the script was the informality of the dialogue set against the evocative, image-rich, absurdist setting. Prillaman manages to find meaning in the seemingly meaningless. My brain cells felt slightly rearranged after reading it. If American theatre wants to be relevant, they should produce plays like this.