Review: KRAPP'S LAST TAPE at Firehouse Theatre

For many students of theater, "Krapp's Last Tape" is only an academic exercise--a play read in a dramatic lit class or a monologue taken up by an acting student.

Widely regarded as a masterpiece, this work by playwright Samuel Beckett is a classic of the modern theater that nevertheless is too rarely produced.

What a treat, then, that Firehouse Theatre has mounted a fabulous production of the show that brings together the talents of James Ricks, artistic director of Quill Theatre, and Alan Sader, venerable actor.

It's an evocative and poignant play. Krapp, a 69-year-old man, plays a reel-to-reel tape he made when he was 39. As the audio from the tape plays, we hear the younger Krapp speak about his life--just fleeting incidents, but from them we get a sense of choices made and opportunities missed, the path that has led to the much older man we see listening.

The play is extremely brief, the text only minimal, but Ricks and Sader have fleshed it out by opening with what is essentially a half-hour clown show that demonstrates Krapp's frailty and determination. He wrestles with extension cords and a rolling ladder. It's evocative of another Beckett work, "Waiting for Godot."

There's comic business during the play itself, with beverages and bananas. But the unexpectedly moving heart of the play is watching Krapp as he listens to his younger self. It's a saga of mortality told with only a few sounds and movements, and it is elegant and devastating.

It's clear that Ricks and Sader have scraped the bones of the play for every morsel of meat, and they've miraculously served us a full meal. With every expression, every gesture, Sader makes this man full and real, the end product of a life as long and complicated as any. Sader gives a thoroughly moving performance. The character he brings to the stage is completely real.

The set--a tower of file cabinets--and the muted lighting, both by Todd Labelle, enhance the mood of the play. The show is available for in-person viewing with careful social distancing protocols, and there is an on-demand version that has quite good camera work and sound.

This production is a gift to Richmond. Thank you, Firehouse, Ricks and Sader.

"Krapp's Last Tape"

At: Firehouse Theatre, 1609 W. Broad St.

Through: February 20

Tickets: $30 in person, $25 live stream

Info: (804) 355-2001 or firehousetheatre.org

Photo credit: Bill Sigafoos