Angel Delight finds herself inheriting a funeral parlour worth millions from her estranged father. However a binding contract in his will requires that Angel must run the business for a further five years until it reaches its 100^th anniversary.

Angel, a sex worker, is not accustomed to the funeral business. She needs a helping hand from some of her co-workers and friends: Delilah the OCD Drag Queen, Roxanne Paine (pun-intended) dominatrix, and Sherry the dope-who’s-afraid-to-leave-her pimp. The four decide it best to band together and run the business. 

The play’s backbone is the collision of subjects which people might not find easy to talk about at the best of times: death, the funeral industry, and sex work. Combine these together and you’ve got the ingredients for an array of comedic problems to arise. 

New Zealand writer April Phillips first conceived Stiff in 2002 for the Adam Playwriting Series. This is the first time the play has been performed in Melbourne and no doubt director Gen Campell has had to make the odd adjustment here and there to be current and geographically relevant.

There are little things like the inclusion of a ‘Myki card’ (a public transport ticket) which give Melbourne audiences a groan-worthy familiarity. But however necessary these choices are, they must never be made lightly. Excited about her new role as housemaid of the funeral parlour, Delilah proclaims “Free at last, free at last!” to which Roxanne remarks “God, I’m living with Barack Obama”. I felt having Martin Luther King Jr and Barack Obama, two prominent and politically different figures, being grouped together like this was unnecessary and heavy-handed.

Although each member has their own merits, I feel the cast lacks some cohesive energy. While the character of Sherry is written to be incredibly ignorant and away with the fairies, Lauren Bradley tends to play this to extremes and at times it lacks variation.

Claire Watt’s portrayal of Roxanne Paine doesn’t provide the oomph it needs. Marcus Ingleby, who portrays Delilah, often provides an energy the cast needs, and Em O’Loughlin’s portrayal of Mrs Beaton is a pleasure to watch for her brilliant physical comedy skills. 

A scene in which Roxanne demonstrates her self-defence skills shifts the whole tone and energy of the play. It feels more like I’m attending a class in a community hall and they are about to turn up the house lights and announce “OK, everybody have a go”. It may have been interesting in another play but here it just detracts from the flow of the other scenes.

There are other unfortunate moments when I am left wondering what has just happened. Perhaps it’s just a case of needing a bit more precise direction or better use of props. Delilah wears a fabulous giant wig but leaves us wondering who exactly she’s talking to when her earpiece phone remains hidden under that glorious hair. This confuses the audience often. We also miss a great reveal of a black eye as the cast surrounds Sherry. They are fretting, but we didn’t know why. This is a case of needing better blocking and more make-up, and it is a shame when a reveal like this is lost.

The programme suggests that this group has had changes in directors, cast, dates and venues. Unfortunately, those in the theatre industry are all too familiar with these kind of stressful perils that can affect the end product, and sadly, it shows.   

I commend Gen Campbell’s debut into directing. She plunged into a show which took on the challenge of taking on some very sensitive subjects. April Phillips has provided a strong script, and Gen Campbell manages to translate the humour with her cast, which is no easy feat. If the group had had a solid start, all working together from beginning to end, there is no doubt that we would have seen a more polished production.

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