[p. 4r]
*
[0001] A Late 
evening in the future.
[0002] KRAPP'S den.
[0003] Front C. a small table, the two drawers of which open towards the audience.
[0004] Sitting at the table, facing front, i.e. across from the drawers, a wearish old man: KRAPP.
[0005] Rusty black narrow trousers too short for him. [0006] Rusty black sleeveless waistcoat, four capacious pockets. [0007] Heavy silver watch and chain. [0008] Grimy white shirt open at neck, no collar. [0009] Surprising pair of dirty white boots, size ten at least, very narrow and pointed.
[0010] White face. [0011] Purple nose. [0012] Disordered grey hair. [0013] Unshaven.
[0014] Very near-sighted (but unspectacled). [0015] Hard of hearing.
[0016] Cracked voice. [0017] Distinctive intonation.
[0018] Laborious walk.
[0019] On the table a tape-recorder with microphone and a number of cardboard boxes containing reels of recorded tapes.
[0020] Table and immediately adjacent area in strong white light. [0021] Rest of stage in darkness.
[0022] KRAPP remains a moment motionless, heaves a great sigh, looks at his watch, fumbles in his pockets, takes out an envelope, puts it back, fumbles, takes out a small bunch of keys, raises it to his eyes, chooses a key, gets up and moves to front of table. [0023] He stoops, unlocks first drawer, peers into it, feels about inside it, takes out a reel of tape, peers at it, puts it back, locks drawer, unlocks second drawer, peers into it, feels about inside it, takes out a large banana, peers at it, locks drawer, puts keys back in his pocket, [0024] He turns, advances to edge of stage, halts, strokes banana, peels it, drops skin at his feet, puts end of banana in his mouth and remains motionless, staring vacuously before him. [0025] Finally he bites off the end, turns aside and
[p. 4v]
[↑] [align with (] [0025] begins pacing to and fro at edge of stage, in the light, i.e. not more than four or five paces either way, meditatively eating banana. [0026] He treads on skin, slips, nearly falls, recovers himself, stoops and peers at skin and finally pushes it, still stooping, with his foot over edge of stage into pit. [0027] He resumes his pacing, finishes banana, returns to table, sits down, remains a moment motionless, heaves a great sigh, takes keys from his pockets, raises them to his eyes, chooses key, gets up and moves to front of table, unlocks second drawer, takes out a second large banana, peers at it, locks drawer, puts back keys in his pocket, turns, advances to edge of stage, halts, strokes banana, peels it, tosses skin into pit, puts end of banana in his mouth and remains motionless, staring vacuously before him. [0028] Finally he has an idea, puts banana in his waistcoat pocket, the end emerging, and goes with all the speed he can muster backstage into darkness. [0029] Ten seconds. [0030] Loud pop of cork. [0031] Fifteen seconds. [0032] He comes back into light carrying an old ledger and sits down at table. [0033] He lays ledger on table, wipes his mouth, wipes his hands on the front of his waistcoat, brings them smartly together and rubs them.
|
KRAPP: |
[0034] (briskly.)[  [p. 5r]
[0065] raises his head, stares blankly front. [0066] Puzzled.) [0067] Black ball?... ([0068] He peers again at ledger, reads.) [0069] The dark nurse.... [0070] (He raises his head, broods, peers again at ledger, reads.) [0071] Slight improvement in bowel condition. [0072] ...Hm.... [0073] Memorable...what? [0074] (He peers closer.) [0075] Equinox, memorable equinox. ([0076] He raises his head, stares blankly front. [0077] Puzzled.) [0078] Memorable equinox?... ([0079] Pause. [0080] He shrugs his shoulders, peers again at ledger, reads.) [0081] Farewell to—(he turns page)—love. |
[#] [0082] He raises his head, broods, bends over machine, switches on and assumes listening posture, i.e. leaning forward, elbows on table, hand cupping ear towards machine, face front.)[₰]
|
TAPE: |
[0083] (strong voice, rather pompous, clearly Krapp's at a much earlier time.)[ [#] [#]  [p. 5v]
[0106] worth having when all the dust has—when all my dust has settled. [0107] I close my eyes and try and imagine them. [#] [0110] Extraordinary silence this evening, I strain my ears and do not hear a sound. [0111] Old Miss McGlome always sings at this hour. [0112] But not tonight. [0113] Songs of her girlhood, she says. [0114] Hard to think of her as a girl. [0115] Wonderful woman though. [0116] Connaught, I fancy. [0117] (Pause.) [0118] Shall I sing when I am her age, if I ever am? [0119] No. [0120] (Pause.) [0121] Did I sing as a boy? [0122] No. [0123] (Pause.) [0124] Did I ever sing? [0125] No. [#] [#]  [p. 6r]
[0167] railway-station platform? [0168] No? [#] [0170] When I look— |
[#] ( [₰] [0171] KRAPP switches off, broods, looks at his watch, gets up, goes backstage into darkness. [0172] Ten seconds. [0173] Pop of cork. [0174] Ten seconds. [0175] Second cork. [0176] Ten seconds. [0177] Third cork. [0178] Ten seconds. [0179] Brief burst of quavering song. [align]
|
KRAPP: |
[#] |
[#] ( [₰] [0182] Fit of coughing. [0183] He comes back into light, sits down, wipes his mouth, switches on, resumes his listening posture.
|
TAPE: |
[#] |
[#] ( [₰] [0187] KRAPP switches off, raises his head, stares blankly before him. [0188] His lips move in the syllables of 'viduity'. [0189] No sound. [0190] He gets up, goes backstage into darkness, comes back with an enormous dictionary, lays it on table, sits down and looks up the word.
|
KRAPP: |
[#] |
[#] ( [₰] [0205] Pause. [0206] He closes dictionary, switches on, resumes listening posture.
|
TAPE: |
[#]  [p. 6v]
[0210] infants, old men, dogs, I got to know them quite well—oh by appearance of course I mean! [0211] One dark young beauty I recollect particularly, all white and starch, incomparable bosom, with a big black hooded perambulator, most funereal thing. [0212] Whenever I looked in her direction she had her eyes on me. [0213] And yet when I was bold enough to speak to her—not having been introduced—she threatened to call a policeman. [0214] As if I had designs on her virtue! ([0215] Laugh.
[0216] Pause.) [0217] The face she had! [0218] The eyes! [0219] Like...(hesitates)...chrysolite! [0220] (Pause.) [0221] Ah well.... [0222] (Pause.) [0223] I was there when—(KRAPP switches off, broods, switches on again)—the blind went down, one of those dirty brown roller affairs, throwing a ball for a little white dog, as chance would have it. [0224] I happened to look up and there it was. [0225] All over and done with, at last. [0226] I sat on for a few moments with the ball in my hand and the dog yelping and pawing at me. [0227] (Pause.) [0228] Moments. [0229] Her moments, my moments. [0230] (Pause.) [0231] The dog's moments. [0232] (Pause.) [0233] In the end I held it out to him [#] [#] [#] [#]  [p. 7r]
[0248] switches off impatiently, winds tape forward, switches on again) [0249]—great granite rocks the foam flying up in the light of the lighthouse and the wind-gauge spinning like a propeller, clear to me at last that the dark I have always struggled to keep under is in reality my most— [0250] (KRAPP curses, switches off, winds tape forward, switches on again) [0251]—unshatterable association until my dissolution of storm and night with the light of the understanding and the fire— [0252](KRAPP curses louder, switches off, winds tape forward, switches on again) [0253]—my face in her breasts and my hand on her. [0254] We lay there without moving. [0255] But under us all moved, and moved us, gently, up and down, and from side to side. [#] [#] [#] [#] [#] [#]  [p. 7v]
[0282] |
[#] ( [₰] [0285] KRAPP switches off, broods. [0286] Finally he fumbles in his pockets, encounters the banana, takes it out, peers at it, puts it back, fumbles, brings out the[₰] envelope, fumbles, puts back envelope, looks at his watch, gets up and goes backstage into darkness. [0287] Ten seconds. [0288] Sound of bottle against glass, then brief siphon. [0289] Ten seconds. [0290] Bottle against glass alone. [0291] Ten seconds. [0292] He comes back a little unsteadily into light, goes to front of table, takes out keys, raises them to his eyes, chooses key, unlocks first drawer, peers into it, feels about inside, takes out reel, peers at it, locks drawer, puts keys back in his pocket, goes and sits down, takes reel off machine, lays it on dictionary, loads virgin reel on machine, takes envelope from his pocket, consults back of it, lays it on table, switches on, clears his throat and begins to record.
|
KRAPP: |
[#]  [p. 8r]
[0334] something, eight I have little doubt. [035] (Pause.) [0336] Crawled out once or twice, before the summer was cold. [0337] Sat shivering in the park, drowned in dreams and burning to be gone. [0338] Not a soul. [0339] (Pause.) [0340] Last fancies. [0341] (Vehemently.) [0342] Keep 'em under! [0343] (Pause.) [0344] Scalded the eyes out of me reading Effie again, a page a day, with tears again. [0345] Effie.... [0346](Pause.) [0347] Could have been happy with her, up there on the Baltic, and the pines, and the dunes. [0348] (Pause.) [0349] Could I? [0350] (Pause.) [0351] And she? [0352] (Pause.) [0353] Pah! [0354] (Pause.) [0355] Fanny came in a couple of times. [0356] Bony old ghost of a whore. [0357] Couldn't do much, but I suppose better than a kick in the crutch. [0358] The last time wasn't so bad. [0359] How do you manage it, she said, at your age? [0360] I told her I'd been saving up for her all my life. [0361] (Pause.) [0362] Went to Vespers once, like when I was in short trousers. [#] [#] [#] |
[#] ( [₰] [0391] Long pause. [0392] He suddenly bends over machine, switches off, wrenches off tape, throws it away, puts on the other, winds it forward to the passage he wants, switches on, listens staring front.
[p. 8v]
|
TAPE: |
[0393] —gooseberries, she said. [0394] I said again I thought it was hopeless and no good going on, and she agreed, without opening her eyes. [0395] (Pause.) [0396] I asked her to look at me and after a few moments—(pause)—after a few moments she did, but the eyes just slits, because of the glare. [0397] I bent over her to get them in the shadow and they opened. ([0398] Pause. [0399] Low.) [0400] Let me in. [0401] (Pause.) [0402] We drifted in among the flags and stuck. [0403] The way they went down , sighing, before the stem! [0404] (Pause.) [0405] I lay down across her with my face in her breasts and my hand on her. [0406] We lay there without moving. [0407] But under us all moved, and moved us, gently, up and down, and from side to side. [#] [0411] Past midnight. [0412] Never knew such silence. [0413] The earth might be uninhabited. [#] [#] |
[#] ( [₰] [0423] KRAPP motionler[₰] ss staring before him. [0424] The tape runs on in silence. ) [₰]
[0425] CURTAIN
NOTE:—All rights in Samuel Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape are reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Caution: Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that this play, being fully protected under the copyright laws of the United States, the British Empire including the Dominion of Canada, and all other countries of the Copyright Union, is subject to royalty. All rights, including professional, amateur, motion-picture, recitation, public reading, radio and television broadcasting, and the rights of translation into foreign languages, are strictly reserved. Permission for any use of the play must be obtained in writing from the author's agent, Grove Press, Inc., 795 Broadway, New York, 3 New York.