|
 Samuel Beckett is the most Marmite of playwrights. I am at the "love" end of the spectrum (apart from Waiting for Godot), but of course his plays must be done extremely well to maintain that warmth of feeling. Fortunately, this production did not disappoint.
It's a simple enough story: on his 69th birthday Krapp uses his tape recorder to listen to a recording he made when he was 39, and then makes a new recording commenting on his past 12 months. The assumption is that he performs this personal review every year on his birthday.
So what the audience sees is the old man reacting to his reminiscences of 30 years previously. He doesn't say a great deal “live” but his recorded voice is ever present as he shuffles around his room reacting to his own story and pausing the tape to do mundane tasks or search for things.
 John Chapman gave a wonderfully watchable and engaging performance as Krapp. Although he basically personifies every crabby old git you've ever seen on stage (or screen) he still made the character loveable and someone whose apparently mundane life was interesting. While we could see that ageing is a nasty business, Chapman's portrayal was precise and poignant. The comic touches (the banana!) were beautifully done and brought a gently humorous nuance to the piece without detracting from the heaviness of regret that was the pervading atmosphere.
 Laurence Tuerk deserves a shout-out for some quality sound work on this production. The slightly hissy recordings were perfect and there were some precision cues that needed intense concentration. The set was exactly right – dominated by the focus on the authentically period reel-to-reel tape recorder. The whole playing area was beautifully lit by Stephen Ley - even Krapp comments during the action on how his new light has improved his room. That made me smile – it felt like a subtle technical theatre joke. Maybe I am overthinking it, but with Beckett I doubt it. Although there were no scene changes (Beckett is kind to stage managers) Richard Davies (as SM) ensured the smooth running of the piece – not to be underestimated when there is such a sharp focus on detail (Beckett's stage directions are legendary for their inflexible precision).
 I knew it was a play lasting less than hour, but the time really flew by. Robert Pennant Jones certainly knows his Beckett (more of which later) and his skilled directing moved the action along at exactly the right pace, no dragginess and no rushing.
Thinking about the show afterwards (always the sign of a good production) I was struck by Beckett's innovative use of new technology (as it would have been when the play was written). It's a brilliant idea to use recorded voice – and you end up with two characters on stage – the voice of the younger man and the presence of his older self. It's not a simple monologue – but a clever interplay between two people. That's Beckett – always pushing the boundaries of the art.
 The second part of the evening was an interesting addition. There was a short film of the director, Robert Pennant Jones, talking about The Tower Theatre's connection with Beckett and reviewing the productions of his plays that the Tower has done over the last 60 years. This was followed up with another short film of an extract from Beckett's 1955 novel, Molloy. This audience wasn't obliged to stay for this part of the proceedings, but I enjoyed the opportunity to hear about some more of Beckett's work.
So it was an evening well spent – and has whetted my appetite for some more Beckett. Meanwhile I will be eating plenty of toast and Marmite.
Photography by David Sprecher
|
