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Krapp’s Last Tape

By Samuel Beckett

— ,Theatre
Actor Stephen Rea sits in front of a tape machine.

Stephen Rea gives a 'hauntingly good' (Guardian) performance in this triumphant production of Samuel Beckett's solo masterpiece about memory, loneliness and lost love.

We meet Krapp, a man in his late sixties. Every year, on his birthday, Krapp records a new tape – a review of the year just gone. But on this occasion – his 69th birthday – he listens back to a tape he recorded three decades before.

One of Samuel Beckett's greatest dramatic achievements, the work's introspective narrative and sharp wit offer a compelling reflection on our own journeys of self-discovery and the inevitable march of time. 

Directed by Vicky Featherstone, the production features tapes pre-recorded by Stephen Rea (The Crying Game, V for Vendetta, The Honourable Woman) over a decade ago, allowing audiences to watch as he listens to his younger self, realising the vast chasm between the man he was and the man he has become. 

 

Tagged with: Theatre & dance Theatre and Dance Winter/Spring 2025 Young Barbican

 

“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."

Stephen Rea on Krapp's Last Tape

 

 

Running time: 55 minutes 

Age guidance: 11+

Audio Desribed performance, Fri 2 May at 7pm
Audio described by Caroline Burn
Touch tour at 6pm

Post-show talk, Fri 2 May
Free to same-day ticket holders. 

 

Presented by the Barbican.

Supported by Cultúr Éireann | Culture Ireland.

Discover

‘A triumph‘
The Irish Times
‘Stephen Rea is hauntingly good in Beckett’s masterpiece‘
Guardian
‘55 minutes of perfect theatre‘
The Irish Times
‘beautiful … a jewel of a production‘
Irish Examiner

Theatre

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