Samuel Beckett play Krapp's Last Tape is coming to the Queen Mother Theatre in Hitchin later this month.

The play, put on by the Bancroft Players, tells the story of Krapp, who lives a lonely and shabby existence in a darkened room.

At the end of the year, he takes out a bottle of wine, a banana and his tape recorder, and he listens as his own voice from the past recounts the glories and hopes of his youth.

Often thought of as Samuel Beckett's masterpiece, the play premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in 1958, and is viewed as the most influential dramatic monologue of the 20th century.

The play has been described as both funny and tragic, and "wildly ahead of its time" in its observations of how recording technology could affect human memory.

Actors who have appeared as Krapp include John Hurt, Harold Pinter, Michael Gambon, Albert Finney, and recently Stephen Rea.

Tickets for Krapp's Last Tape are available from www.qmt.org.uk.

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The production is directed by Matt Gray, and stars Keith Swainston has Krapp.

Performances run from Wednesday, June 26 to Saturday, June 29, at 7.45pm each evening.

A licensed bar will be available.