Video transcript:
Krapp’s Last Tape, starring Gary Oldman, at the York Theatre Royal, is a tiny, 50-minute play.
Was it worth spending two hours on the train to get up there?
Well, it’s the story of a man looking back over his life, and he’s doing this by listening to recordings that he made of him talking about his life when he was younger.
And it’s a very reflective piece. It’s a piece that is a real test for the actor that’s playing the role.
There isn’t a massive amount of dialogue. Obviously, they’re acting alongside tape recording, so it’s a lot of reactions, and it would be easy to overreact and do a lot, move around, move and do stuff.
But Gary Oldman doesn’t do any of that. He sits with great stillness, and he sits in the silence. He uses silence brilliantly and does so much in doing so little, and that is the genius of his performance.
So, was it worth going all the way up to York to see it? Definitely. It’s not going to be my favourite [Beckett] play. Still like Waiting for Godot, but it was certainly worth the trip.
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