A Krapp Chronology

Abstract

I begin my chronology with the creation of Krapp's Last Tape. In 1958, Beckett's translation of Fin de partie was scheduled to premiere at the Royal Court Theatre in London, but, some seventy-five minutes long, it was considered too short to play alone. The theatre's artistic director, George Devine, wished to couple it with A Resounding Tinkle by N.F. Simpson. Beckett, however, preferred to try to compose something himself. At about that time – December, 1957 – Beckett heard Patrick Magee reading from Molloy on the radio, and the musical writer was enchanted by the soft, whispering voice of the Irish actor. In January 1958, Beckett went to the BBC office in Paris to hear Magee more clearly on tape, and in February, he began to write what he at first called the Magee Monologue. Six drafts and three weeks later Beckett sent Krapp's Last Tape to George Devine in London.