KABOSH Theatre Company have been presented with a special award for their collaboration with Unite the Union for the production, Not On Our Watch.
The recognition by Arts & Business NI also comes with a £1,000 bursary.
Last November, the play written by Louise Mathews won the coveted Aisling Arts & Culture Award.
In 2022, Unite was working with six workers from a women’s hostel in West Belfast that had closed. Regina Coeli Hostel had been the only service provision for homeless women in the North. Unite set about sharing the story of this essential service and the tenacity of the women who fought to try and keep it open. Unite engaged Kabosh to commission Not on our Watch, a piece of high quality political theatre, performed in non-traditional venues including workers' clubs, bars and fringe venues to extend audience reach.
Premiering in January 2023 across four venues, the play was a sell-out and expanded to include a performance in the Lyric Theatre and summer tour from Cushendun to Dublin. The production raised fantastic awareness for this landmark case in local union history and wider women's issues.
