Splendid isolation... Beckett Triple Bill, Jermyn Street Theatre

Ah, it was a grand evening to be called Joyce in the Jermyn Street Theatre as Trevor Nunn presented three short plays by Samuel Beckett, an Irishman who often wrote in French but always thought in Irish, with an Irish cast plus one Mancunian.

The staging of these three quite distinct but thematically linked plays was stark and brave making the most of the JST’s intimacy whilst still somehow leaving the players so isolated. In Krapp’s Last Tape, Krapp (James Hayes) is lit by a single overhead light as he huddles over his reel to reel; the darkness makes him feel less alone, he says, yet it serves to accentuate his isolation and a course he has chosen if not exactly welcomed.

In Eh Joe, the titular character (Niall Buggy) is filmed by a video camera which is simultaneously projecting the recording onto the wall behind. It’s very powerful as the actor’s wordless performance is magnified as he listens to imagined the voice of an old lover (a chilling vocal performance from Lisa Dwan who I’m sure left shards of broken glass on the floor of the recording booth…) slowly break him down into tears.

Niall Buggy (Joe). Photo Robert Workman

The press night was packed and the run is nearly sold out already and it’s not hard to see why; this was a masterclass of acting and directing in the kind of space the minimalist Beckett would have loved for his one and two-handed plays. All three plays deal with memory from the point of view of men nearing the end of their lives; there’s intense loneliness, palpable regret and bitterness but also humour; these situations are funny no matter how dark they seem.

In Krapp’s Last Tape, a 69-year old man listens back to recordings he made at 39 when he had seemingly found his motivation for writing whilst at the same time losing out in a relationship that could have gone on a lot longer. He tells himself he does not regret the passing of his youth in the tape and in the present day says the same thing even as he winces at his own vocalisation of creative hope. I loved the patient staging here and the long moments of silence as Krapp goes around his desk to unlock his drawers revealing a banana; pretty much the first sound he makes is to cry out after he slips on the discarded peel.

James Hayes (Krapp). Photo Robert Workman

Eh Joe is altogether bleaker as Joe slowly but surely breaks down as the powerful voice of his dead wife cuts through his defences, hacking away at his silent resistance and relishing his wasted years. Let’s hope we’re kinder to ourselves when the time comes but this was extraordinary powerful theatre and Mr Buggy was mesmerising.

In comparison, The Old Tune was light relief as two old pals meet by chance and share misaligned memories of their past. In fairness Mr Cream (David Threlfall) has trouble remembering his grandchildren let alone previous decades and his pal Gorman (Niall Buggy) is little better, their recall about as reliable as Gorman’s malfunctioning barrel organ. Time is passing them by just as relentlessly as the constant stream of modern motor cars that often interrupt their discourse. Just two old fellas wondering what became of the people they used to be.

A tip of the hat to Louie Whitemore's atmospheric set and costume design as well as Max Pappenheim’s sound which plays such a vital role in all three plays especially in capturing every crack and syllable of Lisa Dwan’s voice and foregrounding the relentless rumble of progress passing by Cream and Gorman.

David Threlfall (Mr Cream). Photo Robert Workman

IThankYou Theatre Rating: ***** Pure concentrate of Beckett that gives the audience the full flavour of his words and intent thanks to excellent staging and genuinely astonishing performances.

The Beckett Triple Bill runs until Saturday 8th and I would urge you to get in as quick as you can as tickets are selling fast.