Stockard Channing - Tony, Emmy and Golden Globe-winning, Academy Award nominee actress - has made her directorial debut in a production which visits Worcestershire’s best kept secret, Bretforton’s Theatrebarn, after a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Festival.

The production of Samuel Beckett’s Krapp's Last Tape stars David Westhead, Channing's best friend and fellow multi-award-winning actor as Krapp, and all monies raised are going to the charity The Wembley to Soweto Foundation.

Following a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Festival, Krapp's Last Tape plays for one night only at Bretforton’s Theatrebarn on Saturday 3 October 2026 at 7pm, followed by a post-show Q&A with Westhead and possibly Channing (subject to availability).

Channing and Westhead have created an artistic collaboration and a unique legacy for themselves, exploring the intricate layers of Samuel Beckett's masterpiece and Krapp's solitary world. Outrageous, relatable, heartbreaking, and a tribute to the vaudeville that exists in Beckett, Krapp's Last Tape dives into the life of Krapp, a 69-year-old man surrounded by the detritus of his life, his past playing back to him on old tape recordings - the ghostly voice of his younger self.

David Westhead said, “I saw the play in my youth and suddenly I’m the right age to play Krapp. We rehearsed in Stockard’s kitchen. I was Krapp. Literally and metaphorically. Her first comment was, ‘Well, who the hell’s going to watch this?’ Slowly things improved and we moved gingerly into the lounge. The play involves a couple of bananas. Benny the dog kept trying to eat them. So, we moved back into the kitchen.”

Stockard Channing said, “David assured me we’d only play his pal’s arts centre for the charity, and now we’ve taken it to the Edinburgh and Latitude Festivals and now to a medieval tithe barn in Bretforton, all for Wembley to Soweto! I don’t think he will mind too much if I assert that David Westhead is truly Krapp. Talk about Theatre of the Absurd.”

Worcestershire’s best kept secret and one of Britain’s most beautiful theatres, Bretforton Theatrebarn (part of the Bretforton Grange Estate) is a Grade II listed estate in the beautiful village of Bretforton - consisting of a theatre, bars and restaurant seating situated in repurposed medieval tithe barns. A cutting-edge live performance development hub with its own centuries of stories in the walls.

For a play about memory, legacy, and the voices we leave behind, it’s a fitting place for Krapp to end up - and the reason for doing it all is to make a chunk of change for the charity, The Wembley to Soweto Foundation.

The production takes place in Bretforton Theatrebarn (Bretforton Grange, WR11 7JH) on Saturday 3 October 2026 at 7pm, followed by a Q&A with David Westhead. Tickets cost £25 plus booking fee, or £15 for under-30s, subject to availability. Find out more here.