Family isn’t always perfect—but in Family Container, it’s powerful.
Family Container runs from April 2 to 6 in the Tett Centre Rehearsal Hall. ed by the BcHub Playwrights Unit—a program designed to a cohort of playwrights—Theatre Kingston, and the Gender Affirming Assistance Project, Family Container tells the inspiring story of a family’s experience in a women’s abuse shelter.
Inspired by his own life, writer and director Seymour Irons, MA ’25, sheds an empathetic light on his single mother’s journey, as well as his family’s experience with mental health challenges, domestic abuse, and prejudice. The production also created space for talented Black actors in the Kingston community to unite around a project they were ionate about.
In an interview with The Journal, Irons spoke to how his family’s past shaped them into who they are today.
“It was maybe a low point in our family’s history and our development, but at the same time, it speaks to who we are,” he said.
Though Family Container may not depict a high point in his family’s history, Irons considers it a crucial part of the story that brought them to where they are now. He calls it a “rags to regular” play—a narrative that illustrates not just struggle, but growth.
The story follows Terra, a pregnant single mother struggling to find housing while ing her five children. As they navigate mental health challenges, domestic abuse, prejudice, and the housing market, Family Container captures the complexity of their experience.
The play began as a one-act script written in 2019 in Queen’s Professor John Lazarus’ playwriting class. After attempting to adapt it into a film, Irons returned to the original one-act and developed it into a full-length production.
Family Container won the 2023 J.C.W. Saxton Prize in Playwriting, which inspired Irons to continue expanding the project.
“I was surprised, and that kind of reignited this ion for the project,” he said.
The play’s long evolution—from class assignment to full production—is a testament to Irons’ resilience and the emotional power of the story. More than just a performance, the production offered a much-needed space for Black creatives in Kingston to collaborate on meaningful work.
“We started to create this mini feeder community that never really had a space in Kingston before,” Irons said, expressing how fulfilling it was to foster a strong community of Black artists—something he feels the city has long been missing.
One of Irons’ greatest challenges was portraying his family in a way that felt both empathetic and true to their lived experience.
“Hopefully the audience could pull some inspiration to provide a bit of empathy towards low-income Black families, even single mothers. These archetypes often get forgotten or sidestepped,” he said.
More than just a play, Family Container is an exploration of family, identity, and the power of storytelling to bring attention to communities that are often overlooked. By sharing his own family’s journey, Irons highlights the realities of low-income Black families led by single mothers—families facing mental health struggles and systemic discrimination.
Irons offered special thanks to one of the show’s lead actresses, Jarena Lee, an employee in the Queen’s Gender Studies and Black Studies departments. Playing the part of Irons’ mother, Lee has been with the project since its inception, consistently dedicating her time and talent to shaping Family Container into what it is today.
“She’s been with us from the initial read-through to the second read-through, to the public reading, to now. Her performance has just continued to grow and evolve, and she rolls with all of the shifts and changes,” Irons said.
By bringing his story to the stage, Irons not only honours his family’s resilience but also helps carve out a space for underrepresented voices in the Kingston arts community.
“Hopefully this inspires more Black creatives in the city and also other diverse creatives to create works that are true to them, regardless of how they might want to fit into the community,” he said.
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