Return to the Dirt | Queensland Theatre

Queensland Theatre’s Return to the Dirt is a work that shows how comedy can be skilfully harnessed to frame a taboo subject on stage.

Using the lens of absurdist comedy, the premise of the play subverts the grim nature of funeral homes to be a lively place of work. Based on playwright Steve Pirie’s life experiences, Return to the Dirt explores a young man’s experience working at a funeral home and the relationships that shaped that period in his life. 

The evening on which I saw the show, most members of the audience were seniors and I was one of the youngest, if not the youngest, audience members there. Consequently, you can imagine how hard hitting the taboo subject of death would have been for the audience members who are later in life and whom some, I can only assume, are thinking about the intricacies of death and quite potentially, pre-planning their funerals.

All images: David Kelly

Pirie’s writing was *chefs kiss*. The use of packaging devices, metaphors, the idiosyncrasies of the characters and the framing of the world of the show was immaculate. As an author and playwright myself, I was in writer’s heaven. Seriously, Steve Pirie, if you’re reading this, I’d love a private lesson. Pirie wasn’t afraid to be irreverent about death, but at the same time he knows when to take it seriously and he does so in a way in which the two tones compliment each other. The script was filled with gorgeous moments of connection and of deep feeling including the scene in which Steve (Mitchell Bourke) interacted with a little girl (Cleo Davis) whose father had just committed suicide. Another such moment was the opening of act two with the explanation of how Hemingway’s “For Sale: baby shoes, never worn” came to be and linking this to the sheer amount of children’s funerals the central character had to orchestrate. 

Designer Renee Mulder’s use of the projector to display chapter titles, keywords, and settings above the stage made it feel like we were flipping through Pirie’s childhood picture of the main character guiding us through each chapter. Pirie’s character being on stage during pre show and intermission further enhanced this ‘entering the story’ narrative, creating the notion that the story was on pause until we were all seated and present to flick over to the next page. I additionally adored how both act one and act two finished with a ballroom dance sequence; weaving a gorgeous metaphor of the feeling of lightness during dark times and that we are all, as the human race, dancing through life together.

All images: David Kelly

I loved the way director Lee Lewis utilised a turn table at the centre of the stage to show the passing of time, as well as a source of physical comedy, including showing the deterioration of a miserable Santa Elf handing out free samples, as well as Deb’s (Jeanette Cronin) reality TV escapades. I also particularly appreciated the care Lewis took in showing the darker parts in Pirie’s narrative; the parts in ourselves that we often don’t talk about and that many staging of works shy away from. Thus, when we saw Bourke self-harm on his leg multiple times with a knife, the audience was uncomfortably quiet, but I know a number of us felt seen. 

Making his Queensland theatre debut, Bourke commanded the stage with every line, movement and mannerism. As an audience, we felt connected to Steve’s story as a result of Bourke’s authenticity in his stagecraft and his charismatic storytelling. Cronin’s portrayal of Deb, a masterchef fanatic, potty mouthed, stabilising force in Steve’s life while being unstable in her own self, was a raw, no-nonsense force of nature. And her comedic timing and witty dialogue had an unpredictable momentum to it. Although the character had only one scene, Miyuki Lotz’s portrayal of Jess, a grieving granddaughter in her early twenties, was full of vulnerability and warmth that was excavated throughout the dialogue in the scene.

I could be more academic but instead, I’m going to get straight to it. This play is sheer genius. It’s bloody brilliant. What a marvellous piece of theatre. I gave the cast a standing ovation on their first curtain call and I stood clapping long after they’d left the stage. I hope everyone gets to see this, young and old. Bravo Steve Pirie and the team at Queensland theatre. Would love to see more works like this.