In Krapp’s Last Tape, Beckett captures the image of a lonely, alcoholic man, and slowly uncovers the life of this individual. The written play is extremely specific, something that the presentation shows. Beckett describes how the sixty-nine year old Krapp eats a banana and he suddenly “has an idea, puts banana in his waistcoat pocket, the end emerging, and goes with all the speed he can muster backstage into darkness. Ten seconds. Loud pop of cork. Fifteen seconds. He comes back into light carrying an old ledger and sits down at table” (Beckett). The image of Krapp limping towards the end of a corridor is well represented in the presentation, as seen on the right, where the actor is able to demonstrate the feelings and conditions of his character. I find it interesting how specific a screenplay can be, and how useful it becomes to act a certain play. This is somewhat different to Shakespeare, who does include some basic instructions of entrances and exits but doesn’t focus that much on the specific actions and props the actors should have.
As the play continues we find ourselves immersed in the discussion of Krapp’s life and feelings. We soon discover that he is a drinker, and a disappointed individual, as his younger version states in the tape: “Hard to believe I was ever that young whelp. The voice! Jesus! And the aspirations! (Brief laugh in which Krapp joins.) And the resolutions! (Brief laugh in which Krapp joins.) To drink less, in particular” (Beckett). It is interesting how the Beckett captures the essence of his character through the tape recordings, through the reflections of the individual about his own life. It becomes the duty of the viewer/reader to decompose the play into simpler concepts, the alcohol dependency of the individual, his love problems etc. The possibility of having both versions of Krapp in the same scene, basically talking and laughing at each other is the element that makes the play possible, the concept that makes us see what this individual truly is, seeing what is happening in his reactions to the tape, as seen on the left.
The author captures the essence of remembering, of understanding the moments we have live through the tape recordings and the character’s expressions. In a scene the young version of Krapp sais: “Moments. Her moments, my moments. (Pause.) The dog's moments.” (Beckett) I find it interesting how Beckett includes the “moments”-theme in his play. Clearly what we see in the recordings and the old version of Krapp are the main events and narrations that marked his life. The possibility of understanding a life of observation is made possible by these “moments”, the glimpses to the past in which our personalities and inner feelings are demonstrated. The suffering Krapp exposes when listening to his own voice remembering him of those “moments”, shows how a troubled life he has had and how the recordings are all that he is left with. This makes me reflect on my own little “moments”, how they will be seen, if not in tape at least in memory.
In Krapp’s Last Tape, Beckett captures the image of a lonely, alcoholic man, and slowly uncovers the life of this individual. The written play is extremely specific, something that the presentation shows. Beckett describes how the sixty-nine year old Krapp eats a banana and he suddenly “has an idea, puts banana in his waistcoat pocket, the end emerging, and goes with all the speed he can muster backstage into darkness. Ten seconds. Loud pop of cork. Fifteen seconds. He comes back into light carrying an old ledger and sits down at table” (Beckett). The image of Krapp limping towards the end of a corridor is well represented in the presentation, as seen on the right, where the actor is able to demonstrate the feelings and conditions of his character. I find it interesting how specific a screenplay can be, and how useful it becomes to act a certain play. This is somewhat different to Shakespeare, who does include some basic instructions of entrances and exits but doesn’t focus that much on the specific actions and props the actors should have.
As the play continues we find ourselves immersed in the discussion of Krapp’s life and feelings. We soon discover that he is a drinker, and a disappointed individual, as his younger version states in the tape: “Hard to believe I was ever that young whelp. The voice! Jesus! And the aspirations! (Brief laugh in which Krapp joins.) And the resolutions! (Brief laugh in which Krapp joins.) To drink less, in particular” (Beckett). It is interesting how the Beckett captures the essence of his character through the tape recordings, through the reflections of the individual about his own life. It becomes the duty of the viewer/reader to decompose the play into simpler concepts, the alcohol dependency of the individual, his love problems etc. The possibility of having both versions of Krapp in the same scene, basically talking and laughing at each other is the element that makes the play possible, the concept that makes us see what this individual truly is, seeing what is happening in his reactions to the tape, as seen on the left.
The author captures the essence of remembering, of understanding the moments we have live through the tape recordings and the character’s expressions. In a scene the young version of Krapp sais: “Moments. Her moments, my moments. (Pause.) The dog's moments.” (Beckett) I find it interesting how Beckett includes the “moments”-theme in his play. Clearly what we see in the recordings and the old version of Krapp are the main events and narrations that marked his life. The possibility of understanding a life of observation is made possible by these “moments”, the glimpses to the past in which our personalities and inner feelings are demonstrated. The suffering Krapp exposes when listening to his own voice remembering him of those “moments”, shows how a troubled life he has had and how the recordings are all that he is left with. This makes me reflect on my own little “moments”, how they will be seen, if not in tape at least in memory.
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