Eamon Flack’s ‘Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead’ Wows at Belvoir St Theatre

The Nobel Prize Winner Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk, adapted for the stage by Eamon Flack is currently playing at Belvoir St Theatre. Eamon directed the 11-strong cast led by the great Pamela Rabe.

Janina Duszejko, a woman of retiring age, lives quietly in a remote village. But one winter, men start being murdered in her district, and nobody seems to have an answer. Like a Polish Miss Marple, Mrs Duszejko takes it upon herself to work out exactly what’s going on. The problem is, the more she looks, the more she realises everything is intertwined – destinies foretold in the stars, secrets in the poems of William Blake, and, most vitally, clues found in the kingdom of animals. A whodunnit which takes astonishing turns, a provocative story of animals, humans and the spaces in between, and one of the most memorable characters of modern literature.

“Flack has created a three-act murder-mystery that sustains high drama, wry laughs, dangerous ideas and genuine surprises across its entirety.” ★★★★1/2 The Sydney Morning Herald

“Flack’s adaptation is slick and effortless” ★★★★1/2 The Scoop

“Throughout the three hours Flack introduces changing moods and scenes redolent in magic, and the beauty of the changing of the seasons at times seem to behold a pagan air, while using every opportunity to extract the humour in the text and action.” Australian Arts Review

Running until 10 May 2026 at Belvoir St Theatre. Photo by Brett Boardman.