Actor with Alzheimer’s to appear in Krapp’s Last Tape
An actor diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease is to star in a new production of Krapp’s Last Tape, in what will mark one of his final stage performances.
Actor Peter Marinker, who has decades of experience performing Beckett, will perform alongside recordings of himself from a production of Krapp’s Last Tape more than 30 years ago, in keeping with the conceit of the show, which sees an older man listen to recordings of his younger self.
In-ear prompts will help him if needed, and a stage manager will be on hand for support during the new production at the Cockpit Theatre in London.
Marinker does not currently have any plans for stage work beyond this production.
The fringe venue’s artistic director Dave Wybrow said the show would explore "the function of memory in relation to selfhood".
"We are doing this production because of Peter’s Alzheimer’s, not in spite of it," Wybrow said.
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Marinker, now aged 84, is a well-known performer of Beckett’s work and co-founder of the Godot Company, as well as a prolific performer for audiobooks and BBC Radio.
Alongside several productions of Waiting for Godot, Marinker has performed Krapp’s Last Tape numerous times. Recorded reels from his last turn as Krapp in 1983 will be used in the Cockpit’s new production.
Marinker said he hoped doing the show and listening to his former self speak would help him navigate his recent diagnosis.
“As an actor, I love to share others’ created characters and words. I believe them and convey them to an audience for them to believe them.
"Nowadays, we use gadgets to remember things, to remember ourselves. Krapp uses a tape recorder to remember the words of his young self. A couple of years ago, I discovered I had Alzheimer’s disease. Now, I feel very excited to do the show," he said.
The actor continued: "My brain is taking me on a journey with more of the right side of my brain than the left. The right brain of instinct and feeling rather than the left brain of calculation and thoughts. In our society, the left is the dominant side.
"I feel that the excessive reliance on the left is taking us, or in my case, my children and grandchildren, over a cliff. Now, I’m reaching back into my past to find something to help me in the present."
Marinker is to be supported at all times by the Cockpit’s production team and by his family, representatives for the show said.
Wybrow, who will also direct the production, continued: "Our relationship with memory is never perfect, yet it dominates our sense of self and our sense of meaning. Krapp is the perfect play to describe that. And doing the play with Peter is the perfect way to do it."
Krapp’s Last Tape, designed by Duncan Henderson will run at the Cockpit from 2nd to 5th September this year. The process of the show’s creation is to be captured by videographer Chris Lincé in a bid to create a "lasting legacy" for Marinker’s performance.
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