Devised by: Quintessence Theatre Company
Director: Calvin Magee (Original Director: Anna Simpson)
Some of Our Children, devised by the presenting company of Quintessence Theatre, kicked off its National Tour this week at the New Theatre, Dublin. The research and development for this production involved interviews with members of the Irish Foster Care Association. The performance has an incredibly strong cast consisting of Anthony Kinahan as Boy, with Ceara Carney and Aisling Madden portraying an impressive variety of roles. Some of Our Children expresses a variety of snippets into the life of a young boy growing up through the foster care system in Ireland. We start off with Boy and his two sisters being separated and taken from their abusive household and grow with him to his late teens.
This production is brilliantly set up for a national tour with the simple use of three pastel coloured chairs and a bag used for the Boy’s belongings and to hold other various props. Colin Doran’s lighting design is incredible and effective, with clever use of colour, effects and tones to enhance dream sequences, passing of time and emotional climaxes. Calvin Magee, as the national tour director, keeps the audience transfixed with smart use of the space. The choice of music was beautifully matched with the transitional routines of movement that added a softness and well needed break from the intensity. The opening sequence of the cast imitating children playing childhood games came off slightly pantomime at times which put a question over the initial expectation of genre and theme. But with the involvement of movement and mime this was soon settled.
The somewhat episodic structure of the performance gives spectators various viewpoints into the world of foster care including the pressure on social workers and foster homes, the generational trauma foster children experience and its endless affect as well as the inner workings of the Foster Care Institution. It’s incredibly well written, skilfully involving as many impacted individuals as possible while keeping the Boy’s life the linear plotline of the story. However some of these “episodes” seem to express false foreshadowing or unresolved conflict that is used purely to negatively alter the audience’s perception of Boy. The supposed “climax” of the piece is never referenced again, only by reuse of lines. In fact most conflicts are left unresolved which while maybe a choice leaves the audience unsure where they sit.
The trio cast of Kinahan, Carney and Madden were an elite ensemble. Kinahan’s handling of the growth of Boy from child to teen was beautifully executed. Carney absolutely shone in this production, juggling a variety of roles and yet managing to portray each with conviction and
singularity. Madden, having only stepped into the role with two days notice, never missed a beat and under the circumstances gave an incredibly impressive performance.
Quintessence Theatre has handled this story with passion and care, they fulfilled its goal of exposing the failures of the Irish foster care system with great consideration. It presents the issue of the lack of support, resources and funding given to the foster care system from the higher authorities. This then creates a dangerous snowball that affects the foster homes that the
children reside in as their foster parents don’t have the appropriate information or resources to care for them in a safe manner. Some of Our Children is an extremely important and powerful story that deserves to be told and heard. It’s evident this tour will impact the minds and hearts of many. Some of Our Children tours nationally until this February.
Reviewed 2nd Oct 2026.
