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.

I LOVE THIS PLAY. The mind-numbingly anti-human setting contrasts masterfully with the backdrop of death, from finding a dead supervisor in the freezer to what is arguably the most human thing--dying. The Grim Reaper is a spreadsheet. Though numbers in the script, these numbers feel real, like real people. Prillaman's writing is excellent, as always--sharp, incisive, concise, and smart. The emotion opens up, the play defies expectations and becomes a real piece of theater. This would be AMAZING to see live