2022 by Colleen Pendergrast

After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Colleen has worked as an actor, director, voiceover artist and teacher. Her acting credits include The Comedy of Errors (Nuffield Southampton) and The Mortal Ash (Bush Theatre). As a director, her credits include After Penelope (White Bear/Rome International Fringe Festival) and The True History of the Tragic Life and Triumphant Death of Julia Pastrana, the Ugliest Woman in the World (Hope Mill Theatre). She has narrated over a hundred audiobooks and teaches at some of London’s top drama schools, including LAMDA, E15 and the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. 

Has anything changed in the script since the first performance with us?
Well, as Actor Awareness gave us the amazing opportunity to develop it into a full-length piece, we ended up extending it to nearly an hour! It was great to develop the relationships further and bring the world of the play more into focus. Hopefully this allowed the audience to engage and identify more deeply with the characters. It was challenging to extend the running time and a relief to see that the play still held together! So although this is the original short version, I think all of the work we did on the longer piece informs this one, now we’ve come back to it. 

What have you found as your play has developed?
It’s been invaluable to have the input of the actors as its developed. I’ve been really lucky that I’ve had such committed, enthusiastic and generous people to work with. They have a lot of ideas about the characters and that was helpful in writing the extended version. It’s a little scary that so much of what I wrote as a ‘stretch’ has actually been mirrored in world events. It’s becoming more believable by the day! 

Has your play been anywhere else? is it coming up anywhere else?
Yes – in fact it’s been on at five scratch nights around London so far and is being made into a short film by the University of Bedfordshire! It’s also coming up at the Arts Theatre (9th December), the Amersham Arms in New Cross (10th December) and the Bunker Theatre on the 17th December! 

What is your next project?
I’m working on a novel and am formulating an idea for a new play. And we have plans to take the extended version of 2022 to festivals next year – watch this space! @2022play

Cast 

Colquhoun – Deborah Wastell

Gower – Richard Innocent

Selwa – Lauren Santana