Krapp’s Last Tape at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield Review
Krapp’s Last Tape
by Samuel Beckett
Crucible Theatre, Sheffield
25 June to 19 July 2014
Reviewed by Becky Linsell
A one man play starring Richard Wilson.
A full studio on press night gave Richard Wilson an enthusiastic reception performing this Beckett play, often regarded as iconic. The work explores the views of an elderly man of his younger self, the latter embodied by tape recordings regularly made throughout his life (on a reel to reel, remember those?). Searching back through his store of boxes he retrieves spool five from box three, recorded on his thirty ninth birthday. The main event recounted on the tape is a romantic encounter recalled rather differently with the passage of a further thirty years.
The performance is staged within an interesting set providing a constantly changing view of a large glass sided shed/office slowly revolving, dimly lit by a central lamp. Richard Wilson’s performance was, as you might expect, a masterful portrait of a grumpy old man. There are flashes of humour and some pathos as he wrestles with his complex views of his former self, deciding that this recording tonight will be his last.
The dimly lit set was effective, leaving some of the action to imagination. The sound was all relayed to the audience by speaker from within the “shed”, the quality of the recording was fairly realistic and even kind to the expected quality of an old reel to reel, but rendered a few words hard to decipher.
The forty-five minutes of the play went by quickly enough. If you are familiar with the play then I think you will enjoy this high quality production. If you are seeing it for the first time (as I was) then you may find some of the script challenging to interpret.
5* for performance and production values.
Rating: 5/5 
Tickets cost from £13 to £18 (plus £1/£1.50 transaction fee).
Krapp’s Last Tape is at the Crucible Theatre, Studio in Sheffield until 19 July. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 0114 249 6000.
Crucible Theatre, 55 Norfolk Street, Sheffield, S1 1DA | 0114 249 6000
