Past Present Future Films of Ideas: My Dinner with Andre w/Lee Hall
Dec 21, 2025
Lee Hall, acclaimed playwright behind hits like Billy Elliot and Rocketman, dives into the rich themes of Louis Malle's My Dinner with Andre. He discusses the film's unique two-hander structure and the philosophical debates between its characters, exploring topics like capitalism, privilege, and the nature of performance. Hall shares his personal encounters with Andre Gregory and reflects on the film's lasting cultural impact, while also navigating the fine line between authenticity and performance in art. It's a thought-provoking chat layered with humor and depth.
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Scripted Self-Portrait
- My Dinner with Andre is a tightly scripted two-hander that stages two real people playing crafted versions of themselves.
- Wallace Shawn shaped Andre Gregory's stories into a dramatic, non-improvised piece that reads as art, not documentary.
Meeting Andre Gregory In A Hotel
- Lee Hall recalls meeting Andre Gregory in 1991 and being mesmerized by his storytelling during a cancelled whitewater trip.
- Hall describes Gregory's ability to hold attention and to turn lived experience into theatrical narrative.
Theatre Meets Neoliberal Breakpoint
- The film captures a specific cultural moment when experimental theatre and spiritual seeking collided in 1960s–70s New York.
- That moment also presaged neoliberal decline and urban austerity, which the film senses as historical change.