Staging Krapp's Last Tape Staging Beckett

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Staging Krapp's Last Tape

Staging Beckett (2012-15): The Impact of Productions of Beckett’s Plays on Theatre Practice and Cultures in the UK and Ireland

The AHRC-funded Staging Beckett project is producing a database of all professional productions of Beckett’s plays in the UK and Ireland. At present, the project excludes radio and television productions, and adaptations, but includes visiting international productions of Beckett’s plays. We have put together a small selection of materials from the Beckett Archive at the University of Reading and other archival collections, including the Jocelyn Herbert archive, Wimbledon College of Art, University of the Arts, London, on productions of Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, to give you a sense of the scope of the project.

Please do not touch the exhibits, except for the reference books at the end of the exhibition, and PHOTOGRAPHY OR FILMING ARE NOT ALLOWED.

You will have a chance to leave comments, or your own recollections of any production of Krapp’s Last Tape you have seen, at the end of the exhibition. Beckett was using state of the art technology in 1958, when Krapp’s Last Tape opened at the Royal Court Theatre, London – what would he be using if he were around today?

1. Screen shot of the Staging Beckett website, currently in development, which will allow you to access the Beckett database, and other research resources on productions of Beckett’s plays, such as essays, featured productions, and blogs.

2. Some faces of Krapp in recent decades. Max Wall, Riverside Studios, London, dir. Ewan Hooper, 1986.

3. Norman Beaton, Bloomsbury Theatre, London, dir, Keith Warner, 1988.

4. Barry McGovern, Samuel Beckett Theatre, Trinity College Dublin, dir. Sarah Jane Scaife, 1996.

5. David Warrilow, Haymarket Theatre, Leicester, and Riverside Studios, dir Antoni Libera, 1989/1990.

6. Edward Petherbridge, RSC, dir. Edward Petherbridge and David Hunt,1997.

7. Obituary for Gerard Murphy, played Krapp, Glasgow Citizens Theatre, dir. Dominic Hill, 1998.

8. John Hurt, dir Robin Lefevre, Gate Theatre Dublin, 2001, 2006; dir. Michael Colgan, Gate Theatre Dublin and tour, 2013.

9. Harold Pinter, Royal Court Theatre, London, dir. Ian Rickson, 2006.

10. Michael Gambon, dir. Michael Colgan, Gate Theatre Dublin and tour, 2010.

11. Robert Wilson, Krapp’s Last Tape, toured to Happy Days Beckett Festival, Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, 2012.

12. Projection on back wall: Harold Pinter in Krapp’s Last Tape at the Royal Court Theatre, London, 2006. Directed by Ian Rickson. Photo c. John Haynes, courtesy of Lebrecht Music and Arts.

13. Display Case A. Notes by Samuel Beckett for a production of Krapp’s Last Tape by the San Quentin Drama Workshop. UoR MS 2101.

14. Été 56 Notebook’ University of Reading (UoR) MS 1227/7/7/1. Includes Beckett’s first manuscript draft of Krapp’s Last Tape. Beckett was inspired by hearing Patrick Magee’s distinctive ‘cracked’ voice on radio, reading extracts from Beckett’s prose work, including From an Abandoned Work, on BBC’s Third programme on 14th December 1957.

You can hear this recording playing during the exhibition. Patrick Magee played Krapp in the premiere of Krapp’s Last Tape at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in October 1958, directed by Donald McWhinnie. Courtesy of Jeremy Howe, Commissioning Editor of BBC Radio 4 Drama.

15. Reel to reel tape of the BBC2 broadcast of Patrick Magee in Krapp’s Last Tape, series 30 Minute Theatre, 1972, dir. Donald McWhinnie.

16. Display Case B. Drawing by Jocelyn Herbert of Patrick Magee in Krapp’s Last Tape, for the premiere of the play at the Royal Court in 1958, dir. Donald McWhinnie. Copyright Estate of Jocelyn Herbert, Jocelyn Herbert Archive, Wimbledon College of Art, University of the Arts, London. Jocelyn Herbert was a close friend of Beckett’s and worked as his designer on many of the UK premieres of his plays. Her two designs here show an evolution in her and Beckett’s conception of Krapp, from overtly clownish, to a ‘wearish old man’.

17. Programme for the world premiere of Krapp’s Last Tape at the Royal Court Theatre in 1958, directed by Donald McWhinnie.

18. Drawing by Jocelyn Herbert of Patrick Magee in Krapp’s Last Tape, for the premiere of the play at the Royal Court in 1958. Copyright Estate of Jocelyn Herbert, Jocelyn Herbert Archive, Wimbledon College of Art, University of the Arts, London.

19. Photograph of Patrick Magee as Krapp (c. David Sim).

20. Display Case C. Programme and 3 sketches by Jocelyn Herbert for the 1973 production of Krapp’s Last Tape at the Royal Court Theatre, with Albert Finney as Krapp, directed by Anthony Page. Copyright Estate of Jocelyn Herbert, Jocelyn Herbert Archive, Wimbledon College of Art, University of the Arts, London.

21. Programme for the San Quentin Drama Workshop touring production of Endgame and Krapp’s Last Tape directed by Beckett, with Rick Cluchey as Krapp. Open Space, 1978.

22. iPad: you can flick through the programme which contains additional notes by Beckett for this production of Krapp’s Last Tape with Rick Cluchey.

23. Flyer for the Oxford Playhouse tour of this production, 1980.

24. Poster for the Peacock Theatre Dublin (smaller stage of the Irish National Theatre) tour of this production, 1980.

25. Some local Reading productions: with Pinter’s at Reading’s Progress Theatre, and a touring Festival programme by Compass Theatre, that included Krapp’s Last Tape, 1996.

26. Reference books: you are welcome to look through these.

27. Krapp’s corner. There is a book and recording equipment here – you are welcome to leave any comments or recollections of any production of Krapp’s Last Tape you have seen either in written or aural form.

Thanks for your visit. Please check out our latest news on the Staging Beckett blog. http://blogs.reading.ac.uk/staging-beckett/

Anna McMullan, Siobhan Wootton, Matthew McFrederick, Patricia McTighe, David Tucker.

Special thanks to: Edward Beckett and the Beckett Estate, Cathy Courtney (the Jocelyn Herbert archive, Wimbledon College of Art, University of the Arts, London), Sandra Lousada, Jeremy Howe, David Gothard, Mark Nixon, Lib Taylor, Chris Bacon, Lisa Clark, Chris O’Shea, Dave Marron, UoR Special Collections.