Krapp’s Last Tape by Samuel Beckett

Directed by Matt Gray

Rehearsal nights: Tuesdays and Thursdays
Performance Dates: Tuesday 25th – 30th June

About

The curtain rises on a late evening in the future. Krapp, an old man, is sitting in his den in the dark, lit by a light above his desk. On his desk are a tape recorder and a number of tins containing reels of recorded tape. He reads aloud from a ledger to find a certain tape, but the words alone are not jogging his memory. He takes childish pleasure in saying the word ‘spool’.

In Samuel Beckett’s seminal Krapp’s Last Tape, an older man reflects on his youth. Sitting alone on his 69th birthday, Krapp listens to a recording of his younger self, rewinding through his life with humour and heartache.

Character

Krapp – an older man- (69 in the script). Will also play the younger version of himself on tape.

This will be a tour-de-force for one man, and is the most affectionate portrait of a character that Beckett has ever done: an aging man who lives a lonely and shabby existence in a darkened room. At year’s end, he takes out a bottle of wine, a banana and his tape recorder, and he listens as his own voice from the past recounts the glories and hopes of his youth.

The rehearsal process will explore the script, its many possible meanings, and the expanded world of Samuel Beckett.

There will be the need to focus not only on voice, but clowning/physical theatre skills.

This will very much be a collaborative process.

PLEASE NOTE:

Scripts will be available very soon from the box office but because there is only one cast member involved, these are limited. As such if you do borrow one, please can it be returned quickly.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the me directly via – mrmattgrayis@hotmail.com

Audition Dates

Rehearsals

Tuesdays and Thursdays