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Krapp's Last Tape

 
Richard Beck Review by Richard Beck 5 Published: 5 Aug 2025 Greenside @ George Street Show Dates: 1 Aug 2025-9 Aug 2025

In a masterclass delivery of Beckett’s most autobiographical work, critically acclaimed former Royal National Theatre actor and award-winning Fringe veteran Kevin Short takes to the stage at Greenside @ George Street to give a mesmerising performance of Krapp’s Last Tape.

His measured delivery, attention to pauses, the careful timing and leisurely pace are textbook Beckett

If you’ve seen the play before, you know what to expect and the details to look out for. First, the man himself. As we enter the auditorium, Short does not disappoint with his presence, and the set is perfect in its stark simplicity. There he is, seated behind a black desk with white drawers that match his eccentric shoes. The tape recorder is in place, and the now-tattered files and boxes are scattered around. Short sits in silence with a wild mass of grey and white hair – fuller than Einstein’s – cascading from his head. The black and white palette extends to his shirt, waistcoat and trousers.

The silence is all-consuming. He sits and stares into the void. And sits and stares. And sits and stares. And sits and stares – until the first fumbling for keys. He tentatively rises, shuffles around the table and, after some bungling, unlocks the drawer. He has a good rummage around and finally produces the first banana, and the absurd humour we've been waiting for begins to flow.

What follows reveals the loneliness and isolation of an old man who has only his memories to fall back on, but who can at least listen to the recordings of events he made each year on his birthday. This birthday, he is reliving the past with a tape in box five. It’s spool number three and, after more rummaging, it is carefully fitted onto the tape recorder.

It’s mundane stuff but gives an insight into a life that has known intimate relationships and loves that were found and lost. Short conveys the melancholy mood, the reflective meanderings of the mind as the spools turn, and the fun that can be had with stretching out the vowels when pronouncing “spool”. “Spoooool,” he says several times, and interrupts the tape with the occasional chuckle or rant. And so it goes on, becoming more captivating by the minute, until we are transfixed by the man.

His measured delivery, attention to pauses, the careful timing and leisurely pace are textbook Beckett, and Short’s impeccable performance will leave all admirers of the great author’s work richly rewarded.

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The Blurb:

Samuel Beckett's unique take on life is performed by award-winning Fringe veteran Kevin Short. The protagonist, Krapp, revisits his younger self via audio tapes he has recorded over the years. The younger Krapp was full of hope and idealism. The older Krapp is full of woe and torment. The play is thought to be Beckett at his most autobiographical. Krapp reflects on his failed love-life, his heavy drinking and where things might have gone wrong. His appetite for bananas is nevertheless still ever present. This haunting humorous piece will live on in the mind beyond its enactment.