The Coffin is too big for the Hole ~ Kuo Pao Kun~

Farhana Henusha Syuhadah Amirah Syifa

Kuo Pao Kun

Was a playwright, theatre director, and arts activist In Singapore, he wrote and directed both Mandarin and English plays. The Coffin is too big for the Hole was his first play in English. He is regarded widely as the pioneer of Singapore Theater. Usually, his plays are based on social issues and questionings.

 The PPAS (The Practice Performing Arts School) was founded by both Kuo and Goh (his wife) as the Singapore Performing Arts School. It aimed to integrate dance, drama and music training, and create a symbiosis between creative performance and arts education. Kuo served as principal of the school until 2002. He was diagnosed with kidney cancer in July 2001. And, passed away on 10 September 2002, at the age of 63, from kidney and liver cancer.

Cultural Context
Stationed in Singapore, the land issues in the play is pretty much relatable because of the geographic constrains faced by the country. Living together as a big family is very much fancied by Singaporean families.
E.g. The grandfather was mad that one by one, all of his family members were drifting away from their family home.

 A handsome coffin is a source of pleasure and something to be proud of for the family members of the deceased. In this play, we can see the stereotypical salesman who have memorized his catch while conversing with customers.
E.g. I know, sir, [] Change into a smaller coffin. We have a wide range of coffins. We have very big ones too, although not so big as this one, but which could fit the standard holes. We even have teak-wood ones. Very lasting
This reminded us of some of the service staff in Singapore.

 The characters take up a Singlish tone while conversing in a casual state.

E.g. OK, forget it. Hurry up and dig the hole bigger.
(dig the hole bigger is used in place of dig a bigger hole. The Singaporeans converse as spontaneously as this in informal agendas.

A magnificent, decorated sarcophagus, in this case never cease to get attention from the media.
E.g. People were clicking away with their cameras when the grandson along with the coolies were struggling to keep the coffin from falling.

Themes
Power and status Firmness and fairness A sense of responsibility Pride and egoism

 Power and status

- People use their money and position to get what they want or to fulfil their dreams. - This story portrayed the desire of a very rich family to be different from others in order to make themselves the focuses of the public, including the way they handle the funeral. - In this story, the grandfather wanted to have a grand funeral and ordered a very big rare coffin for himself which at the end caused problems at the funeral.

 Firmness and fairness

The funeral officer - In the story, the manager was portrayed as a person who stood firm to his principle and treated everyone in the same manner.

- He did not want to give another plot to the particular family.

The grandson

The grandson does not want to delay the funeral of his grandfather and insisted in getting another plot for his grandfather and to proceed on the same day.
Evidence: No. No. No! I cant delay it and I wont delay it.
Pg 43, para 4

 A sense of responsibility
- This story unfolds the burden carried by a grandson as a new head of family. His first responsibility is to complete his grandfathers funeral as the way he dreamed of. - The play also talked about the problems faced by the grandson at the funeral and how he addressed them.

- Evidence The grandson had to make a quick and wise decision on what to do next, when the coffin could not get into the hole.

 Pride and egoism

- In a desperate situation, people will think about themselves only and start to be selfish. - This play shows the selfish side of a desperate person who does not think about other people except his family and his pride. - Evidence: - The grandson did not want to delay the funeral in order to uphold the dignity of his family.