Pendry/​Pettersen
1969 – True. Crime. Theatre.

1969 – True. Crime. Theatre. is a play about crime and memory.

In January of 2024, Kate Pendry went to the police in London and reported an historic serious crime within her family. 1969 – True. Crime. Theatre. is about the police investigation that has now been opened into that crime. At its core the play investigates how unreported murder can impact family and relationships. When an artist shares close DNA with both a killer and his victim, the ripple effects can last for decades.

But 1969 – True. Crime. Theatre. is also about a European capital city in the late sixties. In a way it shows the ‘true’ version of that time, a version far removed from the mythic image of love and peace and weed and psychedelic rock and activism and social change. In reality, post war trauma, poverty, immigration and the catastrophe of mass drug use and addiction were the true pulse of what was in 1969 one of the poorest, seediest, and most chaotic areas of London: Notting Hill.

Notting Hill is now known almost exclusively for its ‘shopping’ ‘vibrancy’, ‘culture’ and a saccharine rom-com starring Hugh Grant. The truth is that the multi million-pound houses in that area were, not long ago, post-Victorian slums; damp and dank, home to a post-war flotsam and jetsam of folk on the edge of ‘decent’ society. There is blood in those walls.

As the police investigation has unfolded so has a family had to reckon with itself. True crime is clumsy and painful. It is not neat, like a Netflix documentary. There may never be an answer. Or perhaps the answer will not be the one we expect...

Kate Pendry and Mads Sjøgård Pettersen have previously collaborated on My Dinner with Putin. Both artists are the recipients of numerous awards for their theatre making.

Kate Pendry is a British-Norwegian actress, playwright and performance artist. Pendry has written and produced a number of plays such as Dead Diana and Pornography, several of which have been shown internationally. She has a reputation as a political and controversial artist due to the common thread of social commentary in her works, and the use of dark humor.

Mads Sjøgård Pettersen is a Norwegian actor and director. He is known for his versatile roles both on film and stage. Pettersen had his breakthrough with the role of Fredrik Kayser in the film Max Manus and has played in a number of successful productions.