KRAPP’S LAST TAPE opens at the Duchess Theatre tonight for a short run until 20 November with the play’s star, Sir Michael Gambon, admitting that unlike the title character, he doesn’t worry about the past.


Popular on LondonNet


Every year on his birthday Krapp records his memories from the past year and on his 69th birthday he stumbles upon a single tender memory that sparks regret.

“All that reminiscence stuff though – I know I’m getting old and running short of time but I don’t fret about that, not like Krapp does,” says Gambon, who is also 69.

“I’m a bit heartless really. Or I pretend to be. Something like that.”

Gambon took the same lead role in Samuel Beckett’s play at Dublin’s Gate Theatre earlier this year and that well-received production has given Gambon extra confidence in the role.

“Some nights if I feel it’s going well, I feel I can do what I like. I can stand and stare at the audience for five minutes for no reason,” he says.

Krapp’s Last Tape opens at the Duchess Theatre tonight, 22 September and runs until Saturday, 20 November. Tickets are still available.