UNGUARDED is a touching new play from Anthony Kinahan that follows Irish families through the uncertain and challenging process of trying to have children through surrogacy. The story is told from an LGBTQ+ perspective that follows a father battling through obstacles to ensure a future for himself and his son.

Directed by Anna Simpson and produced by Droichead Arts Centre, Drogheda, and An Táin Arts Centre, Dundalk, the 75-minute play uses imaginative physicality, vocal versatility, and song to highlight the vulnerable position that many families face due to the lack of regulation of Surrogacy in Ireland. Despite a lack of legal protections, Irish families tirelessly navigate the surrogacy process, and audiences have already raved about the production’s ability to balance the dramatic storyline with comedy.

One person said it was, “Heartbreaking…but with the right amount of comic relief… I had great eyeliner on and it made me cry!”

Another commented: “An amazing play … An absolutely stellar performance, a beautiful, if heartbreaking at times story and the sheer stamina of acting, singing, movement & cinematic style on stage in his one-man show”

Louth writer and performer Anthony Kinahan is the mind behind UNGUARDED, and GCN had the pleasure of talking with him about the production.

 

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A post shared by UNGUARDED by Anthony Kinahan (@unguardedplay)

What prompted you to write the show?
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 and 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, unguarded and unprotected. While the play approaches the issue from an LGBTQ+ perspective, the lack of regulation of surrogacy is an issue that affects both LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ 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.

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 and 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. #NoMoreDelays.

 

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How did you go about researching the topic?
Being an LGBTQ+ parent myself, I had been keeping abreast of the campaign that is striving to obtain full legal rights and protections for families created through alternative reproductive means.

Over the last few years, I’ve followed the amazing efforts of organisations like LGBT Ireland, Equality for Children, Irish Gay Dads and Irish Families Through Surrogacy, and I commend them for all that they’ve done so far and continue to do.

However, when I decided that this was the story I was going to tell, I wanted to ensure I did my due diligence to represent it truthfully, so I set about doing as much research as I could. I learned more about the differences between full parenting rights versus guardianship and the proposed AHR (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill.

Not only did I speak to parents, but I also consulted with Ranae von Meding (Equality for Children) and Maeve Delargy (Lesbian Lawyers Network/OUTlaw), who were both great resources to me during the development process of the play.

A lot of the rest of the play was drawn from personal experience: being a (single) LGBTQ+ parent; dealing with grief and loss; being the parent of a neurodivergent child, and the son in the story being obsessed with musicals? Well, that was definitely me back in the day.

What would you like audiences to take away from the show?
First and foremost, I hope the audiences that come to see the UNGUARDED play will have an entertaining night at the theatre. While the play tackles some heavy themes. it is always important to me as a theatre-maker to inject as much comedy as I can in my work.

There are lots of laughs to be gleaned from seeing the world through the eyes of Tadhg (the son in the piece).  I hope people fall in love with him like I have. I would also like audiences to come away with an understanding of what the lived experience of surrogate families (or families created through alternative reproductive means) can be in Ireland.

Regardless of being LGBTQ+ or not, I think a lot of people will empathise with the everyday challenges of being a parent, a single parent, or a parent with a neurodivergent child, and I hope families will be able to see themselves reflected authentically on stage.

The story is also told in a very theatrically engaging way. I’m a physical theatre performer and I love to multi-role. In UNGUARDED, while I play primarily Tadhg and his father Stephen, I perform various other characters too.

With the help of my director Anna Simpson, I am able to transition from one character to another (sometimes mid-conversation) with the use of my body and my voice and this is another reason I believe audiences will experience something truly unique.

Furthermore, not only is the story told through spoken word and song, but there are also movement sequences throughout the play that communicate atmosphere and emotion in ways words simply can’t.

Finally, any musical theatre fans will enjoy the references from various different musicals that Tadhg litters throughout the show. Sure, what more would an audience want in 75 minutes?!

 

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A post shared by UNGUARDED by Anthony Kinahan (@unguardedplay)

Much of your work is grounded in LGBTQ+ content; what do you think the role of queer theatre is?
I’ve been very lucky to have been involved in a number of LGBTQ+-related projects throughout my professional career.

As a gay man, they’re the stories I’m more passionate about, but also I feel they’re usually the more interesting projects overall. I feel a responsibility as an LGBTQ+ artist to tell the stories of our community and create awareness of the issues we experience (or have experienced).

It’s been fantastic to see the upsurge in LGBTQ+ stories being told by LGBTQ+ artists and long may it continue! It is only by seeing ourselves represented and reflected in film, TV and theatre do we gain a greater understanding of ourselves in our place in society.

What I feel is most important about queer theatre is that it is uniquely placed to push boundaries as it, by its nature, doesn’t fit into prescribed moulds.

And in a world like the one we all live in today, where it’s difficult to satirise anything as reality is oftentimes stranger than fiction, pushing these boundaries is really what we all need to keep our eyes open and aware.

Queer theatre usually says the unsayable, and does it with a song, a laugh, and a wink! I feel like it’s an exciting time to be an LGBTQ+ artist in Ireland, and I can’t wait to see queer theatre continue to blossom.

UNGUARDED begins a 15-venue national tour this Spring, launching in Dublin’s Project Arts Centre on Thursday, January 24.

There will be a post-show panel discussion following the opening night performance to promote awareness about surrogacy and to discuss the progression of the impending AHR legislation. The panel will include Ranae Von Meding (Equality for Children); Maeve Delargy (OUTLaw/Lesbian Lawyers Network); Joe Dempsey & Stephen Roberts (Irish Gay Dads) & Anthony Kinahan (UNGUARDED playwright/performer). TDs responsible for the new legislation have also been invited to attend.

Tickets to UNGUARDED are available through all venue box offices.