Like many of Beckett's plays, Krapp's Last Tape was both praised and disparaged when it was first shown to British and American audiences. Writing in the New Republic,Robert Brustein stated that the "haunting and harrowing" play was Beckett's best and that it offered its viewers "the perfect realization of Beckett's idea of human isolation." To Brustein, the play's greatness lay in Beckett's ability to "sound those chords of compassion which have always vibrated quietly in his other work"; his enthusiasm for the play can be seen in his lauding the "extraordinary economy of the writing" and the "absolute flawlessness of the form." Tom Driver, reviewing the play for the Christian Century, offered similar praise, bluntly describing it as "the best theatre now visible in New York."

However, not all critics responded so favorably. Kenneth Tynan, the former manager of England' s National Theater and one...