Krapp, a disheveled, aged man, is in his den on “a late evening in the future” (3). He rummages through his pockets for a bunch of keys and unlocks a drawer of his table, in order to take out a banana. He “drops skin at his feet, puts end of banana in his mouth and remains motionless, staring vacuously before him” (4). Krapp begins to eat the banana while pacing in the bright light that surrounds his table. He slips on the peel, nearly falls, and nudges the peel off the stage with his foot. He finishes the banana and starts on a second. Again, he stands staring blankly with the end of the banana in his mouth. Beckett’s stage directions state that Krapp “[f]inally he has an idea,” and rushes backstage to have a drink, implied by a “loud pop of cork,” which sounds from off stage to indicate Krapp is drinking alcohol (4).

Krapp returns with a ledger that describes the contents of the reels of tapes that lie in boxes on his desk. Looking through the entries for a specific tape, he is amused by the word “spool,” and repeats it to himself with a “happy smile” (4).