As part of the Royal Court’s 70th anniversary season, London audiences will now have the opportunity to see Gary Oldman perform in Krapp’s Last Tape. The celebrated York Theatre Royal production of this Samuel Beckett masterpiece, first performed at the Royal Court in 1958, will run for four weeks in London next May following its original run in York.
Academy Award, BAFTA, SAG, BIFA and Golden Globe winner, Gary Oldman made his return to the York Theatre Royal stage earlier this year in Beckett’s one-act masterpiece. Having started his professional career at York Theatre Royal in 1979, Oldman returned over 40 years later to show his support for regional theatre. The show which ran from 14 Apr to 17 May 2025 was sold out across all performances, bringing thousands of people to the theatre from across the globe.
Paul Crewes, CEO of York Theatre Royal said, “Working with Gary on our production of Krapp’s Last Tape was remarkable and we are delighted that even more people will get the opportunity to see his extraordinary performance in this landmark play. It was first performed at the Royal Court 67 years ago and it’s so wonderfully fitting that it makes a return as part of their 70th anniversary celebrations.”
‘Perhaps my best years are gone. When there was a chance of happiness. But I wouldn’t want them back. Not with the fire in me now.’
On his 69th birthday, a man sits alone and listens to the echoes of his younger self.
Starring and directed by Gary Oldman (Slow Horses), Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape returns to the Royal Court, where it played in 1958, with a new production by York Theatre Royal.
Opening the performance every night is Godot’s To-Do List, a new Beckett-inspired short play by Jerwood New Playwright Leo Simpe-Asante. Winner of the 2025 inaugural Royal Court Young Playwrights Award, this curtain-raising comedy follows seven decades on from Krapp’s Last Tape’s own debut as a curtain-raiser on the Royal Court’s stage.
Samuel Beckett (1906 – 1989) was an Irish writer, dramatist and poet. He wrote in both English and French, and his principal works for the stage also include Endgame, Krapp’s Last Tape and Waiting for Godot. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969.
Krapp’s Last Tape is on Fri 8 May – Sat 30 May 2026 at the Royal Court Theatre, London (Jerwood Theatre Downstairs)
Tickets for Krapp’s Last Tape at the Royal Court Theatre are onsale now.
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