KPK: Imagining how Coffin might be an ensemble piece

Just from reading the script, it seems difficult to imagine how The Coffin is Too Big for the Hole can be staged by an ensemble. Here, I hope to share some of my ideas for its staging and hopefully inspire some of your own!

My premise (or perhaps just motivating idea) is that the Officer-in-charge represents the institution. Perhaps he can be played by a group of people (“Chorus”) instead of a single actor. An example of how the lines may run:

A:                   There will only be this one exception and
B:                   no such requests will be entertained ever again. 

A, B, and C shake their heads in synchrony. 

A:                   One man, 

B:                   one grave, 

A, B & C:         one plot! 

A:                   See that you make sure
B:                   each 

A:                   and 

C:                   everyone of them 

B:                   will be put in a coffin that is

B&C:               just right for the 

A, B & C:         standard size of my graves!

and so on…

So, we have set up the play as a three actor piece. Now we have to use these actors optimally in the rest of the play…

Perhaps the main character becomes a pair of characters – a father and son or two sons of the Grandfather in question. The monologue becomes a dialogue; one character could be of a “tall, skinny” variety and the other, the “short, stout” sort – the typical comic pairing. The script’s comedy may then be exploited:

Funeral man:          Sir, you must understand, there is no room for exceptions! 

Beat. Son A and Son B look at each other. 

Son A:                   It was quite clear that this young funeral manager was at his wits’ end. But was it going to be mine too? 

Son B:                   For a moment I thought it was. And I began to sweat. 

Son A:                   But somehow, at this moment of crisis, the sight of grandfather’s big coffin became a source of strength and inspiration. 

Son A and Son B look at each other and nod decisively. 

Son A:                   As I looked at it, 

Both begin to circle an imaginary coffin, which is marked by a box light.Sound effect of a steady beat. In a trance-like state:                         

                            I felt as if the coffin was speaking to me, 

Son B:                   persuading me not to give it up. 

Son A:                   Not to give up this big, grand old thing. 

Beat. Son A and Son B look up. 

Son A & B:           Immediately, my mind was made up, and I resumed my confident self again.

The three actors might also help to act out the situation: the crowd at the funeral, or the workers in the office, and so on. The three actors switch between roles fluidly, and may overlap as the main character. Each character is assigned a repetitive stance or gesture, almost mime-like, to allow the audience to better identify them.