←Recommendations of SANCTITY

With compassion and insight, Kerr Lockhart navigates the conflicting responsibilities weighing on the main character Eileen Kinsella. How does one balance responsibility to society with responsibility to those at our doorstep asking for help? What if what we have sworn to uphold violates our deeply held beliefs? And how does a person of faith justify tolerating evil for the greater good? Lockhart puts us in Eileen's impossible position to understand her decision and to answer these questions for ourselves. I heard Sanctity read by American Theater Group, and that stellar reading proves this fine play deserves a production.

I had the honor of sitting in on a February 2024 reading of this play at the American Theater Group in Rahway, NJ, and I can't recommend this character drama enough. SANCTITY offers a woman over 40 the sort of meaty role she's craving to play, and offers an entire ensemble the chance to play multiple different roles in a non-traditional theatrical narrative structure. I especially appreciate throughout this play how Kerr Lockhart so beautifully draws the parallels between attorney/client privilege with a Catholic priest's duty of confidentiality in confession. Excellent work, can't wait to see a full performance!

READ THIS PLAY! Or, better yet, watch it! I saw the zoom reading and was absolutely riveted the entire time. Kerr explores complex moral and ethical choices with engaging characters we can't help but identify with. It is deeply layered with an intricate structure that serves the emotional course of the play perfectly, and seems seemless. Kerrr makes it look easy, and writes shockingly real female characters. If you're looking for a thought provoking, emotionally moving play, this is for you. I can't say enough about it.

Kerr Lockhart's play had a staged reading last week in Baltimore; it's up for consideration to be produced this summer by the Baltimore Playwrights Festival. Riveting, complex, absorbing. If I had a vote, he'd have it for this intense play about moral choices that are difficult and which have disturbing consequences for innocent people whom the main character knows and can relate to. The play goes back and forth in time and yet it was easy to follow. Excellent work, Kerr.

I was at the edge of my seat when reading this play. Eileeen is such a rich role, and the tactics and devices that Kerr Lockhart employed for this play to unspool as it does were masterful and well-done. I look forward to seeing a reading of this play and also to the discussion that follows. This would also make an interesting reading and discussion for a law school or legal advocacy group to stage. Well done!

Lovely and heart-wrenching. Emotional and stark. Effective shifts between time, place and the blending of atmospheres, and memories. Strong female roles, especially Eileen as she navigates her way through her promise to our system of justice and her own mourning process. Superb.

If ever there were a role to lose oneself in, Eileen Kinsella must be the role of a lifetime, a dream. Oh, how I heard her at the end of the first act, and oh, how the scene was raw and visceral and stunning. To see a talented actress devour this hearty meal would be reason enough to watch this show. Add on top of that the excellent dialogue and the lack of easy answers and it's clear to me: Kerr Lockhart is a force, and SANCTITY is a stirring achievement. I look forward to seeing it one day.

A powerful look at the power of one's conscience when they don't live up to their morality and beliefs. Thought provoking and well done!

In Sanctity, Eileen Kinsella's refusal to accept the honorary degree she was offered because of her own personal morality can inspire readers to reflect on their own values when it comes to ethical choices. It will leave you arguing with the page. Really well done.

Pitting an attorney’s personal ethics against the job she must do, Kerr Lockhart has created a pulsing, fascinating deep dive into the varied shades of gray floating between right and wrong. Using cinematic shifts in time and tone to great effect, Lockhart keeps the action moving swiftly, always driven with superb authority by one of the most dynamic central roles out there; Eileen Kinsella is a role any actress would kill to play. I’d love to see this play staged, and I’ll bet the lobby discussions after would be as scintillating as the work itself.