MY DINNER WITH PUTIN
Photo: Tormod Lindgren
My Dinner With Putin is a one-woman show in which Pendry recounts her sudden brush with Hollywood stardom—a chance to make a film with Robert De Niro, directed by the Oscar winning film director Nikita Mikhalkov, who is also a close associate of Vladimir Putin. But then the pandemic hits, followed by the invasion of Ukraine. What unfolds from there forms the basis of this critically acclaimed performance.
The show reflects the hypertextual nature of our modern world, effortlessly shifting between 1933 Vienna, 2022 Moscow, and 1955 Los Angeles. It weaves in appearances from Pussy Riot, Robert De Niro, and Putin, while also presenting an actress auditioning for the role of an actress playing herself.
Based on a true story, the performance blends Hollywood drama with dark humor and critiques the media’s fascination with war and the West’s response to the invasion of Ukraine. It delves into how power structures shape our lives and how individuals often look away when larger events threaten their personal ambitions.
Through a blend of refined stage and film techniques, we’re taken through personal yearnings, the media's fetishisation of war, and shifting worldviews. Pendry narrates a life lived under unforgiving conditions, moving effortlessly between the working class in 1933 Vienna, 2022 Moscow, and 1955 Los Angeles. Along the way, we encounter Pussy Riot, Robert De Niro, and Putin, all while meeting an actress playing herself, who is playing an actress auditioning for the role of herself.
**My Dinner With Putin** is an honest and darkly captivating exploration of dreams, power, and geopolitics, where morality and ideological conviction take a backseat to self-interest.
The performance is in English.
Credits:
Playwright and actress: Kate Pendry
Director: Mads Sjøgård Pettersen
Music and composition: Audun Aschim
Producer: Camilla Svingen, Syv mil
Camera: Benjamin Mosli
Lighting design/ technician: Martin Maisch Brandvoll
Audio and video technician: Thomas Hildebrand
Choreographic consultant: Kenji Wilkie
Photo: Tormod Lindgren
Dramaturgy: Mads Sjøgård Pettersen / Kate Pendry
Supported by:
Norwegian Art Council, Found for sound and image,
Bergesenstiftelsen, Fund for Performing Artists, Fritt Ord, Dramatikkens Hus, Oslo Municipality.
The performance is produced by Syv mil and Kate Pendry in collaboration with Vega Scene, Østfold Internasjonale Teater and Hamar Teater.
"This lady is a national treasure."
"Using pitch-black humour, brutal metaphors and powerful theatrical devices, she forces our gaze onto the world we have created, in all its ugliness."
“Pendry’s craftswomanship, both as a writer and actor, is remarkable to say the least.”
"With complete control, humour, charm and warmth, she draws me into her dreams and ambitions while simultaneously sprinkling the whole business with faint unease. It all adds up to an excellent performance I cannot shake off."
"I have seen a number of Pendry’s monologues before. She can be masterful, almost magical in the form, but this is nevertheless in a class of its own."
“My Dinner with Putin” demonstrates how the longing for acknowledgement and success can erase our capacity to make moral choices.
"Kate Pendry’s personal story of how her big dream of becoming a film star resulted in controversial decisions and a dinner with Vladimir Putin hit the mark with utmost precision. This is the art of the monologue at its most refined."
"But what is it that makes “My Dinner with Putin” so good, other than its being a true story? The answer is simple: Kate Pendry"