UNGUARDED by Anthony Kinahan

Love; Laughter; Loss and Families left behind: UNGUARDED is a touching, and often comedic, new drama – developed by Louth actor/theatre-maker Anthony Kinahan – that uses imaginative physicality, vocal versatility & song, to highlight the vulnerable position many LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ families find themselves in due to the lack of regulation of Surrogacy in Ireland.

Directed by Anna Simpson (Quintessence Theatre) and developed under the Droichead Arts Centre Artist in Association in 2021 (with the support of the Arts Council of Ireland), this production is in association with Droichead and An Táin Arts Centre, Dundalk.

Special Thanks to Maeve Delargy (OUTLaw / Lesbian Lawyers Network) and Ranae von Meding (Equality for Children) for their consultation on this new writing.

Performer/Writer/Producer Anthony Kinahan

Director/Sound Design Anna Simpson

Lighting Design Colin Doran

Videographer Steven Larkin

Poster Design Linda McConville

Anthony Kinahan

Born in Co Louth, Anthony is an actor/theatre-maker and a graduate of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, London. Some of Anthony’s screen credits include:

Skeevy Steevie in HARRY WILD (Dir: Rob Burke (S1)/Rob Quinn (S2); Acorn TV); Receptionist in THE WOMAN IN THE WALL (Dir: Rachna Suri; Motive Pictures/BBC/Showtime); JW O’Keeffe in CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS (Dir: Lenny Abrahamson; Element Pictures);

Garda Officer in KIN (Dir: Diarmuid Goggins/Tessa Hoffe; Bron Studios); Phil Rogers in RED ROCK (Dir: Imogen Murphy; TV3); Brian in LOCKED IN (Dir: Leah Rossiter; Screen Ireland/Bow St – premiered at Galway Film Fleadh 2021) & Matt in BEHIND LOCKED DOORS (Drogheda Arts Festival 2021). Some of Anthony’s stage credits include:

John in A DAY IN MAY (Dir: Gerry Stembridge; written by Colin Murphy, based on the book by Charlie Bird); Zangara in Rough Magic Seeds ASSASSINS; Quintessence Theatre’s National Tour of THE CURIOUS CASE OF ALBERT CASHIER (2023); THE STAR OF CHESTER’S LANE (2021) & CRACKS (2018); Also Quintessence Theatre’s THE MIDNIGHT SCALPING OF PEG CARROLL; BEHIND LOCKED DOORS (Drogheda Arts Festival 2022);  #METOO, THREE FOUR; SOME OF OUR CHILDREN; (All devised by the company) & finally Quintessence Theatre’s WARRIOR OF THE TÁIN & DRACULA (Written by Anna Simpson).

He is Producer/Performer with Quintessence Theatre and he is also the Artistic Director of ActOut Youth Theatre in Meath.

Anna Simpson, Director

Anna trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

UK directing credits include The Wasp (Jermyn Street Theatre, London); Dorian Gray and Government Inspector (Incognito Theatre, Pleasance London & Edinburgh, Ed Fringe); Welcome to Thebes and Spring Awakening (South Hill Arts Centre, Reading), Close to You (Southwark Playhouse), and Disco Pigs (Tristan Bates, London).

Irish directing and writing credits include: The Curious Case of Albert Cashier: Lincoln’s ‘Lady’ Soldier (National Tour), The Midnight Scalping of Peg Carroll (Droichead Arts Centre), Into the Dark (Anaverna), Behind Locked Doors (Droichead, An Tain Arts Centre), The Star of Chester’s Lane (National Tour; DAF Commission Winner 2018), Afloat (Sunday’s Child Theatre, Ed Fringe & Belltable, Limerick), #MeToo, Three, Four… (Droichead), Dracula (Smock Alley, Dublin), Cracks (National Tour), Some of Our Children, Romeo and Juliet (An Táin Arts Centre), Little Red Vs. The Big Bad Wolf, Robyn Hood: Princess of Thieves, Sherlock Holmes and the Anaverna Adventure, Beauty and the Beast, The Deadly Wizard of Oz, The Wind in the Willows (Anaverna House); The Picture of Dorian Gray (An Táin).

Anna was the recipient of the Elsa Robert Award for Directing, as well as the Broadway World Ireland Award for Best New Play 2018/19 for her adaptation of Dracula. She is the founder and Artistic Director of Quintessence Theatre.

Previous Audience Reactions:

“Heartbreaking…but with the right amount of comic relief… I had great eyeliner on and it made me cry!.”

“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”

“I can’t remember the last time I was so moved by theatre. Too long.”

“A super hero that turns himself into something small, big and massive and is constantly interchanging changing through a whirlwind of emotions from comedy to pain flawlessly taking the unexpected and ‘unguarded’ people watching, on a roller coaster of an adventure with beautiful drama and story with immense impact and an everlasting cathartic effect.“

“The poetry, movement & vocals were all beautiful and I was especially floored by how the dialogue between characters & the physical transitions were handled … Completely amazing”

“Such an amazing piece of work. I wouldn’t have blinked only for the tears streaming.”

“It was absolutely amazing, emotional and funny … Sensational”