Looking back on Krapp's Last Tape

Stephen Rea in Krapp’s Last Tape.  Photo credit Patricio Cassinoni.

Krapp’s Last Tape by Samuel Beckett, at The Barbican Theatre, City of London from 30 April to 3 May. Directed by Vicky Featherstone.

Review by Gill Yardley

It was a double pleasure going to see Krapps Last Tape at the Barbican Theatre in London. The lovely armchair seats, the sheer size of the place, and a great view all go to making it a glorious experience.

This 1958 play by Samuel Beckett’s is about a man in his late sixties who, every year on his birthday records a new tape as a review of the year just gone. On this particular day, his sixty-ninth birthday, he listens back to a tape he recorded thirty years before and while he looks back with some regrets he is also remembering his best times.

Krapp’s Last Tape is superbly acted by Stephen Rea and begins with him on stage sitting at a desk appearing to wonder what to do. The atmosphere of boredom is intense, then he eats a banana and discards the skin by throwing it across the stage. Then another banana, with the same lack of interest in his surroundings as before.

Stephen Rea in Krapp’s Last Tape.  Photo credit Patricio Cassinoni.

He has been taping his life since forever, and to prove it he precariously carries a tall tower of canned tapes on to his desk. His frequent disappearances via the lighted door at the back of the stage is peppered with noises that intrigue.

He delights in the word 'spools' and says it several times. It felt to me like his tongue was stuck in a polo mint, only allowing that one word to be tested. If you are a lover of words, you get your fill in this wonderful play.

Reading up on the background to this play, it was interesting to learn that the play features tapes pre-recorded by Stephen Rea over a decade ago and he is quoted as saying: “I had no certainty that one day I might play Krapp, but I thought it a good idea to pre-record the early tapes so that the voice quality would differ significantly from that of the older character, should the opportunity ever arise to use it."

Certainly, the audience was very appreciative of this production and as we left the theatre, the conversations were all about how marvellous the play was. I must say, there are a lot of Samuel Beckett fans around and rightly so.

Discover more from The Barbican Theatre, London: https://www.barbican.org.uk/