A kinship carer from Yorkshire reflects on the experience of performing her solo show ‘Heart of a Guardian’

My husband and I became kinship carers to our two grandchildren in 2017 when they were ten and eleven years old. We’re really proud of them. They are thriving today – one at university and the other has just completed an apprenticeship. But I wanted to raise awareness of what it was like when they first arrived with us. The first scene in my one-person play ‘Heart of a Guardian’ shows something very like that moment – the reality and the emotions.

This is my way of campaigning. I’m an actor and I wanted to raise awareness in a way that felt natural to me. I’d taken part in a Kinship research project, and convinced our MP of the importance of supporting kinship carers in our local area.

I wrote the first few scenes and then a friend encouraged me to finish it and also offered to direct the play for me. I performed the play for a few friends in 2025 and it was well received. A member of our family then suddenly became very ill, and had to have major surgery, so I had to put the play to one side for a time. After he recovered, I performed it for staff members at Kinship’s offices in London. I was really encouraged when Kinship’s CEO told me: ‘Your play has shown us the lived experience of being a kinship carer.’ I then became ill myself and my GP didn’t know what was causing my symptoms. I was asked to do more performances and I thought if I just sit and wait until I am well again, it might never happen. So I decided to keep sharing this story.

I’ve since performed at the York Festival Fringe, at my granddaughter’s former school at Kinship conferences near Walsall and in Colchester, and at Kinship peer support groups during this year’s Kinship Care Week. Some of the events have also been attended by professionals. I think the story affects kinship carers and professionals differently. Kinship carers tell me they feel heard and seen. Professionals are often somewhat shocked. Over the course of the play, they see how difficult kinship care really is.

I still get nervous every time I perform. Every actor does. A solo show isn’t easy to write or perform. But I enjoy doing it. The play isn’t just my own story. It’s the story of a fictional kinship carer, which includes things from my own story, and also episodes from the stories of other kinship carers (used with permission). I don’t use a stage, lights or sound effects. It’s just me, a chair and a glass of water. I enjoy seeing people’s reactions. I try to build a relationship with the audience and hope that the play makes people sit up and take notice. Writing and performing the play has been quite cathartic for me. If it also helps other kinship carers talk about their experiences, and helps professionals understand how difficult it is to be a kinship carer, then I feel I have done a good job of work.