Peter Marinker, 85, will return to the stage to play Krapp’s Last Tape at the Cockpit Theatre from 2 to 5 September. The one-man play will use technical prompts and onstage support to enable a staged run while recognising the actor’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
Marinker is best known for decades of voice work and screen roles, credits that include Labyrinth, Paddington in Peru, Love Actually and United 93. In 2023, during a stage production of Lord of the Rings in which he played Gandalf, he felt himself "switching off" and an understudy finished the run. Subsequent scans and tests led to an Alzheimer’s diagnosis two years ago. "I just had to accept it," he says.
Dave Wybrow, director of the Cockpit Theatre, invited Marinker to revisit Beckett’s play about an older writer listening back to recordings of his life. Rehearsals began at the end of June to give extra time for preparation, and the production has been reworked so Marinker can perform with help. "It's a dynamite show and a dynamite piece of writing," Wybrow says. He also cites personal experience supporting a mother with memory problems as part of the project’s impetus, and he stresses the measures are not about "covering up" Marinker's illness but about proving creative work remains possible after a dementia diagnosis.
The staging keeps a stage manager beside the set for every performance, places autocue screens around the theatre and equips Marinker with a small earpiece for discreet prompts. The creative team unearthed reel-to-reel recordings of a performance Marinker first played in 1983, which will be woven into the new production as echoes of his younger self.
Neuroscientists say the pattern of Alzheimer’s often spares long-established skills while impairing recent episodic memory. "Something stored in long-term consolidated memory is often easier to access than new memories that have just been formed," says Tara Spires-Jones, professor of neurodegeneration at the University of Edinburgh.
All profits from the four-night run will go to the Alzheimer’s Society, which supported Marinker after his diagnosis. Research for the charity in 2025 found 42% of people living with dementia felt ashamed about their symptoms, and one-in-five had not sought a medical opinion because they feared friends and family would react badly. Taiyaba Zeria, who manages dementia support services for the Alzheimer’s Society in London, says stigma is "still very much prevalent" and that the production highlights how life after diagnosis can include activities people enjoy. "What Peter is doing really highlights that a diagnosis is not the end, and a person living with dementia can still do so many things they enjoy and they are passionate about," she adds.
Marinker describes the run as his "wonderful swan song." He jokes about nerves and accepts uncertainty: "I might just live through this [performance], or I might just drop!" Krapp’s Last Tape opens at the Cockpit Theatre in London from 2 to 5 September, with rehearsals complete and a support team in place each night to help the actor onstage.
