Diaries at the ready: Samuel West lined up to star in Beckett play... in 2036

In a world first, the actor will feature with a recording of his younger self in the time-lapse drama Krapp's Last Tape

When it comes to forward planning, a new arts festival is going well beyond normal expectations.

The organisers of the Beckett Biennale, which from next year will celebrate the great Irish playwright Samuel Beckett, are this weekend naming the actor who is signed up to star in a 2036 production of Krapp's Last Tape at their sixth festival. And, in a unique coup de theatre, Samuel West will be giving a performance that he has already partially recorded: in fact, he did it 19 years ago.