Jermyn Street Theatre and Digital Theatre Release Trevor Nunn's Beckett Double Bill

When Trevor Nunn's acclaimed productions of Samuel Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape (starring James Hayes) and The Old Tune (starring Niall Buggy and David Threlfall) opened in at Jermyn Street Theatre in January, they quickly became the hottest ticket in town but plans for a transfer were curtailed by the theatre shutdown in March. Now the theatre is able to announce that an archive recording of this sell-out production is available on Digital Theatre until December 31, by special arrangement with the Beckett Foundation.

This never-before-seen archival recording of Beckett Double Bill is available free to Digital Theatre subscribers and to rent for non-subscribers via https://www.digitaltheatre.com/consumer/production/beckett-double-bill-krapps-last-tapethe-old-tune until 31 December.

In Krapp's Last Tape, Krapp (James Hayes) prepares to celebrate his 69th birthday by recording his annual tape. But first, he pulls out an old tape recording, made on his 39th birthday - a recording which recalls an even earlier tape, made in Krapp's youth.

The Old Tune is a rarely performed gem, adapted by Beckett from a radio play by Robert Pinget. Two elderly men (David Threlfall and Niall Buggy) sit on a bench and reminisce. But are their memories playing tricks?

As funny as they are poignant, these works demonstrate Beckett's remarkable range, inventiveness, and wit.

Jermyn Street Theatre's Artistic Director, Tom Littler said: "We're delighted to be able to bring these two beautiful productions to a wider audience. Krapp's Last Tape is an acknowledged masterpiece and The Old Tune is that rare thing - a genuine rediscovery, revived for the first time in London since the 1960s. As our theatre can seat only 70 people, the original audience was limited to those who snapped up tickets fast - now everyone has a chance to see these two gems."

Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot changed the shape of European theatre. His other plays include Endgame and Happy Days, and he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969.

Trevor Nunn was Artistic Director of The National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. At Jermyn Street Theatre he directed the acclaimed stage premiere of Beckett's All That Fall.

James Hayes began his career in Laurence Olivier's newly formed National Theatre at The Old Vic, appearing on-stage alongside the likes of Olivier, Maggie Smith, Anthony Hopkins and Diana Rigg. His career spans a six-decade period in which he has worked with directors such as Peter Hall, Trevor Nunn, Greg Doran and Marianne Elliott. He has toured the world from Shanghai to New York and has the distinction of performing in more productions at the NT than any other living actor - over 50 plays across the decades.

Niall Buggy won an Olivier Award for his performance in Terry Johnson's Dead Funny in the West End and played Henry Sellers in Channel 4's Father Ted. His other award winning roles include the lead in Brian Friel's adaptation of Uncle Vanya at The Gate Theatre Dublin, for which he won an Irish Times Theatre Award and his performance of Casimir in Friel's Aristocrats at Hampstead Theatre and on Broadway, which won him the Clarence Derwent Award , The Time Out Award and the Drama Desk Award. He also won best performance at the UK Theatre Awards for his role in Seán O'Casey's Juno and the Paycock in the West End.

David Threlfall is best known for starring as Frank Gallagher in Channel 4's Shameless. A Royal Shakespeare Company regular he shot to fame in the early 1980s in David Edgar's acclaimed adaptation of Dickens' The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. His stage career has seen him perform lead roles at The National Theatre, The RSC, The Royal Exchange, Chichester Festival Theatre, The Almeida and The Young Vic, to name but a few.

Jermyn Street Theatre is the West End's smallest producing theatre. Led by Artistic and Executive Directors Tom Littler and Penny Horner, the programme includes outstanding new plays, rare revivals, new versions of European classics, and high-quality musicals, alongside one-off musical and literary events. It collaborates with theatres across the world, and its productions have transferred to the West End and Broadway. Its 2020 had begun with acclaimed, sold-out productions of a Beckett Triple Bill directed by Trevor Nunn, and The Tempest directed by Tom Littler. During closure, the theatre has responded with its Brave New World season of digital work, including the complete cycle of Shakespeare's sonnets performed by a mixture of graduating drama students and household names including Helena Bonham Carter and Olivia Colman.

Founded in 2009, Digital Theatre is a leading online performing arts platform, collaborating with world-class producing houses to capture, curate and bring the best of live theatre, ballet and opera to screen. Over 30 productions have been captured for online, cinema and television broadcast including Yaël Farber's production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible, Frantic Assembly's Things I Know to be True, Northern Ballet's Casanova and Carrie Cracknell's production of Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House.

The original creative team of the Krapp's Last Tape and The Old Tune comprised Trevor Nunn (DIRECTOR), Cat Robey (ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR), Louie Whitemore (SET AND COSTUME DESIGN), Max Pappenheim (MUSIC AND SOUND DESIGN), David Howe (LIGHTING DESIGN). The film was captured by Simon Nicholas.

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