Krapp, 39 – review

Given our current infatuation with self-analysis through social media, it seems surprising that Krapp's Last Tape hasn't inspired multiple new versions replacing Krapp's battered tape recorder with modern technology. And yet Beckett's 1958 masterpiece, set on Krapp's 69th birthday when he's recording his memories while berating his former self on old spools, is such a timeless meditation on existence and ageing that it's hard to imagine anyone capturing its nuances. Happily, Krapp, 39, "an autobiographical documentary theatre piece" by the captivating American actor Michael Laurence, is an excellent attempt. For his 39th birthday, Laurence, a lifelong Beckett fan, decided to create his own diary recording using video cameras, a laptop and audio footage. The result is a poignant and often hilarious study of a Hornbyesque thirtysomething bloke who can't "fold a shirt, pitch a tent, boil spaghetti", its reflections on Beckett so intricately interwoven that even the TV monitor's automatic startup message, "Life's good", comes across like a witty Beckettian reference.