Krapp's Last Tape - Michael Gambon stars
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
BECKETT’s monologue Krapp’s Last Tape, performed by Michael Gambon, will transfer from Dublin’s Gate Theatre to the West End’s Duchess Theatre, where it runs for a limited season from September 15 to November 20, 2010.
Every year on his birthday self-absorbed Krapp sits down to record his memories from the past year. But on his 69th birthday he takes a step further into the past.
Listening to his old recordings, he soon stumbles upon a single tender memory from long ago that sparks his growing regret as he starts to question whether his present lives up to his past.
Originally performed at the Royal Court Theatre in 1958, Krapp’s Last Tape was last seen in London – also at the Royal Court – in 2006 when, as part of the venue’s 50th birthday celebrations, it starred Harold Pinter.
Gambon’s theatre credits include Endgame (2004) and the Gate production of Eh, Joe (2006), both by Beckett, as well as No Man’s Land, Celebration, Henry IV, The Caretaker, A Number and The Unexpected Man.
On screen he has appeared in The Singing Detective, The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, Longitude, Mary Reilly, Sleepy Hollow, Gosford Park, Sylvia, Angels in America, Layer Cake, The Life Aquatic, The Good Shepherd, Amazing Grace, and four Harry Potter films (as Professor Albus Dumbledore).
In 1992, Gambon was awarded a CBE and in 1998 he received a Knighthood for his contribution to the arts.
Krapp’s Last Tape is directed by the Gate’s artistic director Michael Colgan.
The Secret of Sherlock Holmes continues at the Duchess Theatre until September 11, 2010.
Krapp’s Last Tape will be followed – from November 27, 2010 – by the Chichester Festival Theatre production of Love Story.