'Wicked sense of humour': John Minihan on photographing Gary Oldman in Krapp's Last Tape

West Cork-based photographer John Minihan recently visited Gary Oldman in York to continue his tradition of capturing images of actors in Beckett plays 

John Minihan with Gary Oldman, backstage at the production of Krapp's Last Tape. Picture: John Minihan

“There is no Memory in Beckett. Even Krapp’s Last Tape has no memory in the usual sense of associated recall, but rather, a mechanical process set in motion by a jar or vibration: the closing of or opening of a door.” - William S Burroughs, The Adding Machine

 Samuel Beckett knew the essence of theatre is that an actor is present in the flesh on the stage in a way in which he is not on the screen. Academy award winner Gary Oldman returned to the UK stage after a 37-year hiatus in April of this year to perform Samuel Beckett’s one-act play, Krapp’s Last Tape, at the York Theatre Royal.