Samuel Beckett’s Krapp's Last Tape returns to the Town Hall Theatre Studio by popular demand following a sell-out run last year. The acclaimed production will be performed from Tuesday March 3 to Saturday March 7 at 8.30pm and on Friday March 6 in a special late evening performance at 10.30pm.
Connemara based company Moving Still revives what is often described as one of Beckett’s most accessible works. On the occasion of his birthday Krapp sits alone at a desk replaying extracts from his journals which he has gathered on old reels. Sadness and extreme loneliness combine with extraordinary humour to offer an emotionally powerful night of theatre. The production is directed by Art O’Briain and performed by Fergus Cronin
Art O’Briain has had a varied career ranging from community arts work in the 1970s, theatre direction work with An Damer, the Abbey and Peacock theatres, the Project Arts Centre, and with Field Day in Derry with the premiere production of Translations by Brian Friel. He worked with RTÉ as a senior producer/director until 1994 and was series producer for the first run of Ros na Rún with TG4. He founded Moving Still Productions and concentrated on animated series until his move to Connemara in 2003 when he directed two acclaimed documentaries on photographer Fergus Bourke and artist Joe Boske. Art’s third documentary, filmed in Denmark and Iceland, has just been completed.
Fergus Cronin worked with the Children’s T company in the 1970s, acting in and producing several award winning shows. He moved away from full time acting in 1982 to pursue other career interests, notably serving as chairman of Kilkenny Arts Festival. However in that period he has acted sporadically, including playing the role of Duncan in Bickerstaffe Theatre’s production of Macbeth at Kilkenny Castle, directed by Conall Morrison.
“We did the show as a very low-key intimate production,” O’Briain reveals, “but we found it really struck a nerve with people who came to see it, including Fergal McGrath at the Town Hall who has invited us back for this new run. Part of my motivation in doing Krapp was in getting Fergus back on stage because he’s been doing a lot of other things in recent years, but the play has brought us on a journey of imaginative intensity as we’ve delved into Beckett’s words and ideas. Funnily enough I think the play is even more resonant just now as we find ourselves in the midst of a national crisis. As a country we’re looking at the mess we’re in and asking ourselves ‘How did we ever get here?’ and that’s exactly what Krapp does in the play; it’s a very reflective piece on the nature of human experience and it conveys a deep understanding of all that entails. So I think this is certainly an interesting time to be seeing the play!”
Tickets for Krapp’s Last Tape are €15/€12 and are available from the Town Hall.
