Review: Krapp’s Last Tape/ Godot’s To-Do List, Royal Court Theatre

The juxtaposition of a brand-new piece of work against a renowned classic is a brave, not always successful, choice. However, it works extremely well here with Leo Simpe-Asante’s Godot’s To-Do List acting as a pre-performance for Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, which itself played as a curtain-raiser at the Royal Court Theatre in 1958. Celebrating the 70th anniversary of the venue as well as a return to the stage for Gary Oldman seem two very good reasons to contrast new and old pieces.

On entering the auditorium, the stage is already set for the latter performance. We’re soon joined by Godot (powerfully performed by Shakeel Haakim), suited and booted apparently after a busy day at the office. He enters a spot-lit circle with a stool in it. A remote voice (Flora Ashton) then gives him instructions on what to do next: a series of ‘tasks’. After a slow build up, the various ‘tasks’ unravel, some completed, some failed. But who is behind the voice? Where is it coming from? What is its purpose? The frailty of Godot soon becomes clear and we start to understand his psyche a little. A hidden voice telling someone what to do, even to breathe, is an interesting concept to bring to stage and reflects the power of the subconscious in all of us. What’s astonishing is that this is the debut play by Simpe-Asante, who was winner of the Royal Court’s inaugural Young Playwrights Award 2025. It’s a success all round, all done in a neat 20 minutes, although too many expletives added for effect mar things a little.

After a very brief pause, the main event starts. The lights fall and the gloriously messy set and stage are revealed in their full glory, with almost every inch covered in clutter, reminiscent of a hoarder on a cheap TV programme, but beautifully put together. Oldman makes an entrance up some hidden stairs and we are treated to our first sight of Krapp. The auditorium falls completely silent and with silence on the stage for the first ten to fifteen minutes, it makes for a surreal, rather spooky start. There are no live, spoken words from Oldman for approximately the first half of the entire 45-minute performance (albeit the younger Krapp’s voice is played via an aging tape recorder), much to the annoyance of one couple sat behind me, who made a rather loud, angry exit early on. We get the odd grunt, sniffle, acknowledgement of his messy surroundings and his enjoyment of bananas, of which there are several. Whilst some might see this as rather contrived, indeed, somewhat lazy maybe, it really allows Oldman to focus on the physicality of Krapp – his facial expressions; his body language; his deep, long looks to the audience. It’s really rather mesmerising.

As Krapp pulls himself together, finishing his bananas, he starts to reflect some more on the tape he’s playing, rewinding to pivotal, emotional moments from his younger years. We learn that at the same time every year, he listens to a previous year’s tape and records a new one. Today is his 69th birthday, but this year, he doesn’t get far with the actual recording, doing more listening and reflecting than anything else.

Whilst there is no doubt that having Academy Award-winning Oldman as Krapp is the main draw here, the writing, lighting, staging and sound are beautifully done and it’s clear that a huge amount of time has been spent getting this right. The production is a huge success, revealing deeply human truths about mortality and silently speaking volumes about the tragedy of a tedious existence.

Krapp’s Last Tape:

Playwright: Samuel Beckett
Director and Designer: Gary Oldman
Lighting Designer: Malcolm Rippeth
Costume Designer: Guy Speranza
Sound Designer: Tom Smith
Production Manager: Denzil Hebditch
Company Stage Manager: Nikki Colclough
Set Design: Simon Kenny

Godot’s To-do List:

Playwright: Leo Simpe-Asante
Director: Aneesha Srinivasan
Lighting Designer: Lucinda Plummer
Sound Designer: Marie Zschommler
Production Manager: Marius Ronning
Costume Supervisor: Amy Trigg

Krapp’s Last Tape/ Godot’s To-Do List plays at the Royal Court Theatre until Saturday 30 May.