“The link between homelessness and gender violence is now firmly established.”
An award-winning play about the forced closure of a Belfast women’s hostel is returning to stages across Northern Ireland as the housing crisis deepens.
Not on Our Watch dramatises the actions of staff and residents in a bid to save the Regina Coeli hostel by holding a 12-week lock-in. The play will tour 14 venues this October, including five in West Belfast where the building still lies empty.
The action was supported by the Unite the Union, whose backing was crucial in helping the workers resist closure and highlight the wider issues of domestic violence and homelessness.
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The play, commissioned by Kabosh Theatre Company and written by Louise Mathews, confronts the devastating link between domestic violence and homelessness. Its themes remain urgent and timely, according to Kabosh artistic director Paula McFetridge.
She said: “There are so many communities across the north that want to host the play. It is a joy to return to a work that proved so impactful and became a rallying cry for better facilities for homeless women.
“For us, it’s about responding to the Stormont Executive’s Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy and encouraging people to become active and informed about what’s happening in society. Now we can unashamedly bear witness to what these brave women did.”
Since premiering in early 2023, Not on Our Watch has been recognised with the 2024 Aisling Culture and Arts Award, described as “a political play in every sense of the word.” Katie Richardson’s original song for the production has also become an anthem for campaigners demanding accountability from those in authority.
Playwright Louise Mathews has written a new ending for this tour, reflecting the worsening housing crisis. She said: “The need has only grown – it is so much worse than when I first interviewed the staff members who fought so hard to keep Regina Coeli open. The link between homelessness and gender violence is now firmly established.
“While new hostels have opened, they are a drop in the ocean. Thousands of women across the north still face homelessness because of violence and abuse.”
Mathews has since become a prominent activist, leading the Shift the Shame campaign to reframe public understanding of violence-led homelessness, and lobbying politicians at Stormont for greater investment in women-only spaces.
Opened in 1935 by the Legion of Mary, Regina Coeli was Northern Ireland’s only dedicated women’s hostel until its closure in February 2022. The property remains empty and is currently on the market for £495,000.
The October tour of Not on Our Watch will open at Longstone GAC, Annalong (Oct 4) and close at the Roddy McCorley Heritage Centre, West Belfast (Oct 23–24), just two miles from the former hostel.
For more information including tickets and full tour dates, click here.
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