Name: The Marian Hotel
Start: 2026-02-17T20:00:00+00:00
Location: Marketplace Theatre Armagh

It’s 1979, Kitty is pregnant. She is on her own, not by choice.
She arrives in a mother and baby home. Nothing could have prepared her for this. The young women hold each other up with sharp, dark humour against the backdrop of the war in the North of Ireland.
The play is based on Caitriona Cunningham’s lived experience of being in Marianvale Mother and Baby home in Newry. It is a searing portrayal of a dark time in Irish history with a 70s/80s soundtrack. The Inquiry in the North of Ireland has begun. This play is a call to all impacted to come forward and raise their voices so that they may never again be silenced and shamed for being human.
After a sell out tour in 2024 with rapturous standing ovations and critical acclaim the play is touring again in February 2026. The magnificent cast will take you on a journey that is mesmerising and intensely moving. Don’t miss it.
“The Marian Hotel is hard-hitting, but Cunningham takes full advantage of theatre’s dimensionality to create a shared sympathetic experience between performers and audience, effectively blending humour and drama. We see beyond the headlines, and beautiful performances from the actors impact the audience in a way a BBC Panorama special couldn’t.” Lucy Hughes, The Gown
Sole Purpose Productions is a multi award winning theatre company based in Derry, North of Ireland. The company has been making theatre for social change for nearly 30 years, it has toured work across Ireland, the UK and the USA.
This production is made possible by donations from the public and Sandinos Cafe Bar Derry, for which we are truly grateful.
A Sole Purpose production
Written by Caitriona Cunningham
Directed by Patricia Byrne
Sole Purpose is core funded by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.