A touching and comedic play to end national tour in Kilkenny

Critically acclaimed and loved by audiences around the country, don't miss the last chance to catch this unique and entertaining play on its national tour which will be performed in the Watergate Theatre on Friday (March 15).

Unguarded is a story which focuses on a recently-widowed father Stephen and his son Tadhg as they deal with the grief and loss of a family member, but then Stephen's also thrust into a legal battle for his custody of Tadhg, as Tadhg originally came to him through surrogacy and Stephen is the non-biological parent.
 
Created and performed by Anthony Kinahan from Quintessence Theatre the piece highlights the legal limbo that LGBTQ+ families (and non-LGBTQ+ families) that are created through surrogacy (or other alternative reproductive means) exist in, in Ireland, due to the lack of legal protection and recognition.

 
"It’s got singing and dancing and poetry & multi-rolling (I play at least five characters that you will see on stage and many others that you won’t), so it's a unique theatrical experience like many wont have seen before. And all that are wrapped up into 75 minutes, sure what more could you want for a Friday night. We can’t wait to share this with a Kilkenny audience and are also thrilled that it will be with a Kilkenny date where we’ll also be concluding the tour," said Anthony who also explained how the piece came about.
 
"Since 2016, I’ve been involved with Quintessence Theatre as performer/producer. We make a lot of work collectively as an ensemble and we usually tell stories that explore social issues or gender/sexuality.
However in 2021, Droichead Arts Centre in Drogheda, afforded me an opportunity as Artist-in-Association, to take some time to expand my horizons as an artist/theatre-maker. I wanted to use this opportunity to nurture my own unique artistic voice and I challenged myself to write a play.

"When I sat down with a blank screen, Unguarded is the story that poured out of me. I am an activist and campaigner and I would consider my art as an extension of my activism.  The fact that families created through surrogacy and other alternative reproductive means are still not fully protected under Irish law boggles my mind.  This frustration lit a fire in my belly to bring awareness to this issue in the only way I know how.

"I really wanted to tell a story of how the lack of regulation of surrogacy in Ireland, leaves these families in vulnerable legal positions. While the play approaches the issue from an LGBTQ+ perspective, of course the lack of regulation of surrogacy is an issue that affects both LGBT & non-LGBT families.

"However, the majority of LGBTQ+ families were created through alternative reproductive means and therefore we as a community have a greater stake in the struggle for these rights.

"Being an LGBT parent myself, I had been keeping abreast of the campaign that is striving to obtain full legal rights & protections for families created through alternative reproductive means.  lot of the rest of the play was drawn from personal experience: Being a (single) LGBT parent; dealing with grief/loss and being a parent a neurodivergent child.

Also, the members of the LGBTQ+ community have a lot more experience of what it feels like to be second-class citizens.

Living your life feeling second-class, influences how you feel about yourself, your family & how you perceive the world around you. It has a trickle-down effect, which isn't just apparent in worst-case scenario situations (much like one that is presented in the play), but it also perpetuates that niggling, underlying, everyday feeling of general insecurity, or the belief that you are less wanted by your society. I don't think it's right that any child or parent should feel this way in Ireland in 2024. These families exist. It's time we protect them," added Anthony.
Directed by Anna Simpson & developed under the Droichead Arts Centre Artist-in-Association 2021 scheme (with the support of the Arts Council of Ireland), Unguarded is produced by Droichead Arts Centre, Drogheda, and An Táin Arts Centre, Dundalk.

Unguarded will be finishing its national tour at the Watergate on March 15 at 8pm.

watergatetheatre.ie