''Guardians'' is an

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

written by Peter Morris. It debuted at the

2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

, winning the "Fringe First Award" and made its

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

debut on April 11, 2006 at The Culture Project.

Synopsis

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, a tabloid

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

finds an opportunity to further his career by manufacturing photographs supposedly depicting

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

soldiers abusing

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

i prisoners. He is identified only as "

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

Boy". This story is intercut with the confessional monologue of a young

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

soldier from

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

who becomes a

scapegoat In the Bible, a scapegoat is one of a pair of kid goats that is released into the wilderness, taking with it all sins and impurities, while the other is sacrificed. The concept first appears in the Book of Leviticus, in which a goat is designate ...

in a scandal involving photographs of actual abuse. She is identified only as "American Girl". It is later revealed that English Boy is a sexual

sadist Sadist can refer to: * A person with a high level of everyday sadism, a personality trait characterized by enjoyment of hurting others * A person with sadistic personality disorder, an obsolete clinical term for people who enjoy the suffering of o ...

, taking pleasure in torturing his partners and taking advantage of his boyfriend's

masochism Sadism () and masochism (), known collectively as sadomasochism ( ) or S&M, is the derivation of pleasure from acts of respectively inflicting or receiving pain or humiliation. The term is named after the Marquis de Sade, a French author known ...

for his own pleasure. It is also revealed that American Girl had an abusive sexual relationship with a superior officer. It is implied that these relationships may have furthered the main characters' descent.

Inspiration

The story of American Girl is loosely based on that of

Lynndie England Lynndie Rana England (born November 8, 1982) is a former United States Army Reserve soldier who was prosecuted for mistreating detainees during the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse that occurred at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad during the ...

, who was

convicted In law, a conviction is the determination by a court of law that a defendant is guilty of a crime. A conviction may follow a guilty plea that is accepted by the court, a jury trial in which a verdict of guilty is delivered, or a trial by jud ...

misconduct Misconduct is wrongful, improper, or unlawful conduct motivated by premeditated or intentional purpose or by obstinate indifference to the consequences of one's acts. It is an act which is forbidden or a failure to do that which is required. Misc ...

in the prisoner abuse scandal at

Abu Ghraib prison Abu Ghraib prison (, ''Sijn Abū Ghurayb'') was a prison complex in Abu Ghraib, Iraq, located west of Baghdad. Abu Ghraib prison was opened in the 1960s and served as a maximum-security prison. From the 1970s, the prison was used by Saddam Hus ...

. That of the British journalist is based on a 2004

scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way a ...

at ''

The Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead ...

'', where a fabricated photograph depicting Iraqi abuse at British soldiers' hands was published. Karen J. Greenberg—who is Director of the Center on National Security at Fordham University's School of Law and the author of '' The Torture Papers: The Road to Abu Ghraib, The Torture Debate in America, and Al Qaeda Now''—praised Morris's play highly, and published an article on Peter Morris and Guardians, in which she claims that the play represents a "truly profound" analysis of America's role in, and response to, the Abu Ghraib scandal. Greenberg's article, entitled "Split Screens", originally appeared in

The American Prospect ''The American Prospect'' is a daily online and bimonthly print American political and public policy magazine dedicated to American modern liberalism and Progressivism in the United States, progressivism. Based in Washington, D.C., ''The America ...

magazine; it is included in a 2007 book of essays entitled "One of the Guys: Women as Aggressors and Torturers", edited by

Tara McKelvey Tara Shannon McKelvey is an American journalist who is a White House reporter for the BBC and a former correspondent for ''Newsweek/The Daily Beast''. She has reported on topics which include national-security issues from the Middle East, South A ...

with foreword by

Barbara Ehrenreich Barbara Ehrenreich (, ; ; August 26, 1941 – September 1, 2022) was an American author and political activist. During the 1980s and early 1990s, she was a prominent figure in the Democratic Socialists of America. She was a widely read and aw ...

and afterword by

Cynthia Enloe Cynthia Holden Enloe (born July 16, 1938) is an American political theorist, feminist writer, and professor. She is best known for her work on gender and militarism and for her contributions to the field of feminist international relations. She h ...

. Greenberg's essay concludes with this praise for the play: "Who, really, are the victimizers? ... The answer is complex, but would come to light with some clarity in an independent investigation or Congressional inquiry ... Until this occurs, however, the American public will have to glean what it can from the words of a playwright." (Greenberg, "Split Screens")

August - September 2005 Edinburgh Fringe / London Run

Actors

*Hywel John - English Boy *

MyAnna Buring My Anna Margaretha Buring Rantapää (born 22 September 1979), known professionally as MyAnna Buring (), is a Swedish-born British actress. Her films include ''The Descent'' (2005), ''Kill List'' (2011), and ''The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn � ...

- American Girl The play premiered at the

Pleasance Pleasance may refer to: People * Pleasance Pendred (1864–1948), British women's rights activist and suffragette * Pleasance Smith (1773–1877), English letter writer, literary editor and centenarian * Richard Pleasance, Australian rock musici ...

at the

, and immediately transferred to The Latchmere Theatre in London. It received a Scotsman Fringe First Award and was the runner-up for the

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

Freedom of Expression Award.

April 11, 2006 - May 25, 2006 Culture Project Run

Actors

Lee Pace Lee Grinner Pace (born March 25, 1979) is an American actor. He starred as Thranduil the Elvenking in The Hobbit (film series), ''The Hobbit'' trilogy and as Joe MacMillan in the period drama television series ''Halt and Catch Fire (TV series), ...

- English Boy *

Katherine Moennig Katherine Sian Moennig (; born December 29, 1977) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Shane McCutcheon on '' The L Word'' (2004–2009), as well as Jake Pratt on '' Young Americans'' (2000). Moennig played the role of Lena ...

- American Girl Note:

was nominated for a 2007

Lucille Lortel Lucille Lortel (née Wadler, December 16, 1900 – April 4, 1999) was an American actress, artistic director, and theatrical producer. In the course of her career Lortel produced or co-produced nearly 500 plays, five of which were nominated for ...

award for Outstanding Actor in a Lead Role for his performance.

Personnel

* Peter Morris -

Writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

* Jason Moore -

Director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

* Richard Hoover -

Set Designer Scenic design, also known as stage design or set design, is the creation of scenery for theatrical productions including plays and musicals. The term can also be applied to film and television productions, where it may be referred to as prod ...

* Garin Marschall -

Lighting Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight. ...

* Michelle R. Philips -

Costume Designer A costume designer is a person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television show. The role of the costume designer is to create the characters' outfits or costumes and balance the scenes with texture and colour, etc. The costum ...

* Thomas J. Gates - Production Stage Manager *

Culture Project Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, attitudes, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

General Manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

May 8, 2006 - May 10, 2006 Newrite Theatre Company (Taunton, UK) Run

''(Repeated again on July 28, 2006 as part of the Westival-the Arts Fest of the West.)''

Actors

* James Foster now known as James Garland - English Boy * Rebecca Wearing - American Girl

Personnel

*Peter Morris - Writer *Sebastian Petit -

*Sebastian Petit - Set Designer *Sebastian Petit - Lighting *Brewhouse Theatre/Robert Miles - Director

July 2, 2008 - July 5, 2008 Manhattan Theatre Source

Actors * Zack Abramowitz - English Boy * Meryl Sykes - American Girl Personnel *Peter Morris - Writer *Joseph Giardina - Director *Stephanie Caragliano -

Stage Manager Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including overseeing of the rehearsal proce ...

*Alex Casagrande - Lighting

References

{{Reflist
New York Times ''Guardians'' reviewManhattan Theatre Source Homepage
Off-Broadway plays British plays 2005 plays