Impressive storytelling

In the monologue performance "1969," Kate Pendry travels through present-day and childhood London, searching for answers and reconciliation. The audience is invited along, but must work to stay connected throughout.

"1969" was shown this fall at Vega Stage, but had its world premiere at Black Box in December 2024. Earlier that year, the show's creator and lead actress, Kate Pendry, went to London to alert the police about an unsolved murder case. The murder was committed in 1969. In the show, Pendry stands alone on stage and tells her personal story about life in London in the 60s and 70s, and the investigation that began last year.

Since the last screening, "1969" has dropped the subtitle "True. Crime. Theatre", even though the play is the same. The play is documentary, and at first may resemble a typical true crime series on Netflix, only on the theater stage. However, it is not just the story of the murder mystery that is told. Pendry weaves the unsolved case into a comprehensive depiction of her childhood, her own father and his drug abuse, while also tying this together with her journey around London in 2024 in search of a truth. Perhaps that is why the play no longer has a subtitle, because the story is mainly about Kate Pendry herself, not about her father's ghost and his old misdeeds.

The stage space at Vega is empty and bare. There are no carpets on the walls, just a chair and a fluorescent tube hanging from the ceiling. Pendry starts the performance with an introduction to the 60s. She moves around the stage, back and forth across the floor with steady, controlled steps, almost like a dance. Pendry talks about the hippie movement, social liberation and The Beatles. “Just to set the scene,” as she says.

Cobweb of secrets

Kate Pendry continues the dance from the intro, telling about a letter she read at her mother's house. The letter said that her father had killed her mother's little brother, Uncle Karl, and buried the body in a garden somewhere. This secret awakens Pendry's thoughts. She decides to take the case to the police in London in 2024, but also begins her own investigation.

Trips on the metro, the first time in a pub, seeing his father lying stretched out on a sofa with a syringe in his arm. Letters from family who know nothing, the meeting with his stepmother and stepsiblings, phone calls, an address. In the performance, Pendry spins stories from 1969 and 2024 intertwine into one big spider's web.

The stage lighting helps the audience

The performance "1969" is the second part of Kate Pendry's trilogy of memoirs for the theatre stage. Pendry is a British performing artist, who has lived in Oslo for a long time. She writes politically and personally, tells about her own life and her own view of the world. She made "1969" in collaboration with the Norwegian actor and director Mads Sjøgård Pettersen.

Kate Pendry makes the story believable, using only herself, a chair and some spotlights. She narrates in depth and imagery, but also acts out the situations she describes on stage, so that the audience can imagine the stories clearly and vividly.

The stage lighting is a helping hand for the audience trying to follow the story. When Pendry narrates, she easily jumps between time and place, with transitions that can be difficult to follow. Shifts in light, changes in color and intensity are markers that the story is taking a new turn. The lighting is not only practical, but also beautifully executed, with floodlights and semi-darkness, spotlights and sidelights.

Should have been cut 

The performance is too long, and eventually becomes a bit monotonous and monotonous. For two hours Kate Pendry stands on stage proclaiming her monologue. She has a lot on her mind, but there are many stories that could have been cut. I don't think this would have had a major impact on the overall play, but it would have made it easier for the audience to follow her entire journey.

The murder mystery, the common thread in the play, is confusing to follow. What really happened between the father and the uncle? I'm not really sure. The story becomes unclear as Pendry is given several explanations, but no conclusion. It seems like an ambiguity, but perhaps it is also a picture of Kate Pendry's journey. Towards the end of the play, Pendry stops following her father's trail. She says to herself: "It's been 55 years", it's time to let go. After searching her history, Pendry manages to find reconciliation. She can't do anything about the past, it's time to move on.

Although the text can be difficult to follow, I am left with a feeling of having been part of Pendry's journey through memories, questions and time. Kate Pendry is a storyteller, a spider in the web she has spun between 1969 and 2024.