Krapp's Last Tape comes to Artsdepot

As the North Finchley venue unveils its autumn programme, Londoners will get the chance to experience Samuel Beckett’s celebrated tragicomedy for one night only – actor David Westhead tells Leïla Davaud why it can’t be missed

A man with white hair in a waistcoat with his head on a tape recorder. — David Westhead in Krapp’s Last Tape – (Credit – Artsdepot)

The one-act play Krapp’s Last Tape follows a man who records a tape every year on his birthday. Now 69 years old, he listens back to a recording made when he was 39.

What follows, says actor David Westhead, is “a tragicomedy filled with hilarious memories, unfulfilled ambition and the mourning of lost love, all wound up in an old reel of tape”.

His own journey with the play began 30 years ago while he was travelling through Europe.

“I was in Lithuania and I wanted to see a play. I ended up following arrows through the streets that led me to a showing of Krapp’s Last Tape. I found myself in some sort of stranger’s front room, with just a man and his tape recorder. I absolutely loved it.”

That chance encounter has stayed with him ever since. Now, Westhead and Academy Award nominee Stockard Channing are bringing this production to audiences across the United Kingdom.

David says the aim of touring to venues such as Artsdepot is a deliberate one: “to make quality theatre accessible outside the West End and give them a chance to do a good deed at the same time”.

That good deed comes through charity support. Money raised from ticket sales goes to the Wembley to Soweto Foundation, providing photographic training and life skills to disadvantaged young people, helping them move their lives forward and make a positive contribution to society.

For Westhead, that sense of community is central to the experience, making the production about more than simply revisiting one of Beckett’s best-known works.

Audiences can also take part in a Q&A following the performance, offering an opportunity to explore the play and its themes with the artists after the curtain falls.

Krapp’s Last Tape plays at Artsdepot’s Studio Theatre on Thursday, 5th November at 7.45pm, with tickets from £19.

The production forms part of Artsdepot’s 2026 programme, which brings theatre, dance, comedy, music, magic, family entertainment and more throughout the year.

Tickets are on sale now on artsdepot.co.uk.

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