It is fascinating to see this classic absurdist work by Samuel Beckett, written over sixty years ago, using a technology of the time (reel to reel audio tapes) in a central way, and comparing it with contemporary work that does the same, although technology has evolved, the human condition arguably has not.
Krapp’s Last Tape, gloomy as it is, isn’t miserable to watch. For the audience it’s loaded with comical moments, Stephen Rea’s excellent performance marries subtlety with Beckett’s trademark clowning. A gesture, a sigh, a snide observation, noises offstage that provoke irony, amusing common futilities to be laughed at.
It is absorbing to watch old man Krapp quietly sit at his desk listening to a tape of himself recorded thirty years previously. The sound is clear but all too distant, as life’s grand finale encroaches. Though the play reveals a lot about the life of Krapp, infatuations, dalliances, it speaks the universal language of humanity through silence, reflections on the absent younger self, comparisons.
As the elder questions, adjudicates and heckles the younger, shades of loneliness, mortality and envy permeate the hypnotic mood.
The actual use of audio tapes recorded by Rea thirty years ago adds great authenticity, and must have heavily informed the character interpretation. Directed by Vicky Featherstone the elements they have brought together make this production fresh, visually intoxicating and quite a masterclass. The set design (Jamie Vartan) and lighting design (Paul Keogan) of this captivating production, manifest some whimsically clever optical illusions. I was lulled into a dreamlike state, as Krapp the elder gazed upon his past, illuminating our inevitable encroaching mortality.
Krapp’s Last Tape is on at Adelaide Festival until 8 March. Tickets are selling fast – get yours here.
