KATE PENDRY is an actress and playwright from London, now living and working in Oslo. Renowned for her political and controversial works, she has written and produced over fifty pieces for the theatre, alongside numerous electronic artworks and radio productions. Pendry's signature use of dark humour and incisive social commentary has earned her a distinct reputation in the arts community.
 

EARLY LIFE 
Born in London in 1965  into a working class family, Pendry was involved in experimental theatre from a young age through Holland Park School, and the Royal Court Theatre. After training at Mountview Theatre School she moved to Oslo, where she continued to develop her craft, creating a significant body of work that spans various media.

BREAKTHROUGH 
Pendry's breakthrough in multimedia came when she joined the Cortex art group, who created "sense:less," an interactive electronic work utilising artificial intelligence and virtual reality to create a dramatic theatrical atmosphere. This piece was awarded an Honorary Mention at the Prix Ars Electronica in 1996 and was presented at the Rotterdam DEAF festival, the Istanbul Biennale, and the National Theatre in Oslo.

Her play "Pornography" was nominated for the Ibsen Prize in 2009, and her dark drama for teens, "Erasmus Tyrannus Rex," won the Ibsen Prize in 2010. Other notable works include "Sex In The War Zone," which explores war tourism in the Balkans, and was awarded the National Performing Arts Hub Theatre Prize in 2002. The play was performed internationally including the Cartier Foundation in Paris,  the Museum of Modern Art in Stockholm and the Center for Cultural Decontamination in Belgrade. 

 

Pendry's collaboration with choreographer Hege Haagenruud, "The Rest Is Silence," was nominated for the Norwegian Critics Association award for best dance piece in 2016.

MEDIA & COLLABS
Pendry was a presenter for the feminist radio station RadiOrakel in Oslo for 12 years until 2013 and is an associate playwright at the Norwegian Centre For New Playwriting (Dramatikkens hus) since 2013.

As an actress, Pendry has been a member of Alan Lucien Øyen’s Winter Guests dance-theatre ensemble since 2010, performing regularly at the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet in Oslo and internationally.

Her work and life were comprehensively chronicled in Marie Laland Ekeli's biography, "Demonologi: Kate Pendrys liv og verk," published in 2017 by Transit Forlag.

CURRENT WORKS
Pendry's recent projects continue to explore her signature unusual social perspectives. Her podcast, "Kate Pendry’s Corona Chronicles," offers a darkly comic reflection on the COVID-19 pandemic, available on Spotify and major streaming platforms, produced by Sea Shell Media.

She co-created and featured in the documentary film "Human Tsunami: Trump," which follows the filmmakers’ experience at Donald J. Trump’s inauguration in 2017. Produced by Storyline Nord.

 Her latest performance, "My Dinner With Putin" (2023), has been a critical and commercial success, garnering nominations for the Hedda Pris for best script and the Norwegian Critics Association award for best theatre production.

UPCOMING
Together with composer and Audun Aschim and Patrick-Jude Oteh of Jos Repertory Theatre (Nigeria)  she is currently creating a multi-episode avant garde radio drama in Pidgen English, based on her new translation of Ibsen’s masterpiece The Master Builder. This epic work will be broadcast in Nigeria in 2026 – and will tour as an audio installation in English and Pidgen internationally during the global Ibsen Centenary in 2028.

Pendry's upcoming theatre production “1969” will delve into the underground drug smuggling milieu in London in the late sixties. It is a true crime theatre piece involving an historic crime committed by a member of her family. This production is set to premiere at Black Box Theatre in 2024, and is a collaboration with Mads Sjøgård Pettersen.

“My Dinner With Putin” and “1969” are the first two parts of a memoir-theatre trilogy. Part three -  “The God Shaped Hole”  - will premiere in 2026.

Kate Pendry’s work is driven by a compulsion to explore the paradoxes in human behaviour through art and dark humour, with a particular focus on (and forgiveness for) moral hypocrisy. She considers herself politically homeless, and her multifaceted career reflects a dedication to exploring the cultural greyzones that are often ignored in the current art scene. She is not afraid to hold an unpopular opinion and has been the target of ire from both the left and the right.

Vive la difference!

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