The Green Room invites you to a play reading of The Coffin is Too Big for the Hole by Kuo Pao Kun (a short one-act play) on January 7, 2026. The session will take place from 5 –7 pm and take the form of a table read followed by a discussion.

Joining this discussion will be Ms. Mayura Baweja, an NLS alumna (BALLB ’95), theatre director (Fernando and His Grandmother) and actor (Queen Mother in Girish Karnad’s Bali: The Sacrifice).

About the Play

The Coffin is Too Big for the Hole is a sharp, darkly comic play that centres on a seemingly mundane problem: a coffin that does not fit the government’s standard-sized grave. As officials argue over procedure and responsibility, the play unfolds into a critique of institutional rigidity, indifference, and the erosion of human dignity beneath rules and paperwork.

The play features multiple characters, and we will be holding a table read during the session. We are looking for volunteers to read the roles—no prior experience required.  Those interested may reach out to the student coordinator, Aaditi [].

About the Playwright

Kuo Pao Kun (1939–2002) is widely regarded as the father of modern Singaporean theatre. Writing across languages and theatrical traditions, his work engages deeply with questions of identity, migration, memory, and the quiet violences of bureaucracy and modern life. His plays often blend the personal with the political, employing minimalism, symbolism, and irony to reflect on belonging and displacement in postcolonial societies.