Oslo

Act One

Oslo, Norway. March 1993. Terje Rød-Larsen and Mona Juul are hosting a dinner party at their flat with Johan Jørgan Holst, Mona’s boss, and his wife, Marianne Heiberg, who works with Terje. Terje is telling a story, buttering up Holst, who is taking office of Foreign Minister tomorrow. Terje tells Holst that he could affect real political change, perhaps even in the Middle East, where the US is failing miserably in their peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Holst tells Terje he’s crazy, that the two sides will never agree and moreover, that none of them have any power in the situation.

Then, two simultaneous telephones ring. Mona and Terje rush to answer, frantically telling their guests to keep silent. Terje passes coded information between the two calls, and one of the callers grows very audibly angry. After hanging up, Terje reveals to his guests who the callers were: representatives from the State of Israel and the PLO. He and Mona go on