Krapp Forever

Irish playwright Samuel Beckett Krapp’s Last Tape was first performed in 1958, but the themes of his play, in which the eponymous Krapp interrogates his younger self by listening to audio diaries he records every year on his birthday, continue to impact strongly at a time when our past lives can be stored and curated like never before.

Marie-Louise Kerr explores how Beckett’s mid-20th Century drama – this analogue story - resonates so powerfully in our 21st Century, digital world.

She meets Sean Doran, curator of the Beckett Biennale, who has already stored two voice recordings of actors Sam West and Richard Dormer, both of whom recorded the younger Krapp when they were 39, the age of the character in the play, with the aim of putting on the plays in 2036 and 2038 when both actors are 69. Richard talks about how he fears he might not live long enough to do the 2038 performance.

Marie-Louise also finds a recording of her younger self showing how her voice has aged and discusses the very real use of AI in playing around with the sound of the play and the possibilities artificial intelligence reveals to the Beckett text.

A Walk On Air Films production for BBC Radio 4