Gambon Records Krapp’s Last Tape at Duchess???

Prior to the Chichester Festival transfer of Howard Goodall’s musical version of Love Story, the West End’s Duchess Theatre may play host to quite a different beast: Michael Gambon tackling Beckett’s monologue Krapp’s Last Tape. According to the Daily Mail, Gambon is keen to reprise his performance in the production first seen in April at Dublin’s Gate Theatre, helmed by artistic director Michael Colgan. The play, originally performed at the Royal Court in 1958, features Krapp who, each year on his birthday records a tape reflecting on the events in his life. Now an old man, he replays passages from his tapes of the previous 30 years and recalls his past loves, disappointments and fascinations. The last major London outing for Krapp’s Last Tape was in 2006, when Harold Pinter made a rare stage appearance in it at the Royal Court as part of the theatre’s 50th birthday celebrations.