Review: Krapp’s Last Tape at York Theatre Royal

“…something so extraordinary, you may never see the like again…”

Review: Krapp’s Last Tape by Samuel Beckett, York Theatre Royal

By Helen Kelly

Gary Oldman has made his return to the stage, marking not only his return to the theatre but also his return to the place where he made his first public stage acting debut in 1979. What a return it was.

Krapp’s Last Tape was written by the great dramatist Samuel Beckett in 1958. This one man show sees Krapp (played by Oldman) on his birthday, as he records a new tape reflecting on the year gone by. On his 69^th birthday, Krapp listens to a previous recording he made as a young person, before he records his latest birthday entry. He realises, however, that the person he was previously had hope and wasn’t the lonely figure he is now.

The show opens with the stage full of items usually found in a loft. Then you hear someone coming up from what appears to be hidden stairs, coughing and out of breath, the light above the desk is already lit and that is the only item on the stage illuminated, as Krapp makes his way over to the desk. He then sits down and it is at that moment that the audience is mesmerised, as there is complete silence on and off the stage. This is a regular occurrence throughout the play and is something that Oldman does very well.

There are also some comedic moments in the play too. I never thought I would find it funny watching a man sit in silence on stage eating two bananas but the audience and I found it so – and that was even before he threw the skin in the bin. Also, Krapp finds the word “spool” odd and keeps repeating the word, which also creates a lighter moment. These lighter moments help to break up the play, to ensure that it keeps the audience’s attention.

Oldman’s performance of Krapp is a wonder to see from start to finish. When he first enters the stage you realise you are in for a treat. He plays two versions of Krapp, one version being through the tapes he plays. He uses the frequent silences on stage as a powerful tool to further reinforce the meaning of the play.  Oldman is a man of many talents as he also directed and designed the stage for this performance. Although most of the action was focused on the desk, the set-up of the room created just as much of a story of a lonely man with a past as the tapes.

Beckett likes to make his audience think while watching his plays. In this production, the audience is left with the perception that the older Krapps was ridiculing the younger version of himself. For example, at one point, he has to look up in his dictionary a word used in the previous tape. How could the older man not know what the younger version meant or knew?

There is also the bitterness the older man has for the younger one and this can be seen in his anger as he throws things off the desk or when he rewinds the tapes to play the same part over again. This easily leads on to the main theme of loneliness. Krapp, throughout the play, sits surrounded with belongings from his past, but there is nothing personal there – only himself, and he is all alone. You can’t help but dwell on this as you watch.

I heartily recommend this play to everyone. You feel that you have sat watching something so extraordinary, you may never see the like again – yet it is so difficult to explain to people exactly why.

Krapp’s Last Tape plays at York Theatre Royal until Saturday 17 May. Tickets are available here.

Helen Kelly wrote and published her first Romance book in 2022 after being inspired by completing three master’s degrees in history. She has now written three books and various short stories. In her spare time, Helen loves to visit various parts of the country, some of which have been an inspiration for her books. Helen is a mother of two grown-up daughters living in North Yorkshire. She loves to read and to visit historical places and theatres. Find out more about Helen at www.helenkellyauthor.com