A new musical inspired by true events
Dirty Laundry is a contemporary musical inspired by the true stories of the Magdalene Laundries in Ireland. Through music, it gives voice to women whose experiences were silenced for generations.
Dirty Laundry
Based on true events from Ireland's Magdalene Laundries,
where women and children were hidden away and silenced.
Dirty Laundry shines a light on the young women and girls who were shut away in Ireland's Magdalene Laundries. These institutions operated until as recently as 1996, yet the stories of those who lived, worked and suffered within them remain largely unspoken. This musical gives voice to those stories and reclaims a history that was deliberately buried.
Renewed investigations, the discovery of unmarked graves, and growing public pressure for accountability underline the continued relevance of this subject. This is not simply history. It is a legacy that still resonates today.
Dirty Laundry feels urgent, human and necessary. Rooted in lived experience, it invites audiences not only to witness these stories, but to feel the strength, resilience and connection that existed beneath the silence.
Dirty Laundry explores the pain, the courage and the humanity that survived where silence was enforced.
The Scale of the History
30,000+
Women confined
10
Laundries across Ireland
1996
Last institution closed
Artistic Intent
From the Writer, Steven Luke Walker
The subject of the Magdalene Laundries does not immediately scream musical theatre.
When I first came across the topic over fifteen years ago, and after speaking with my maternal grandfather, our personal connection became clear and I felt compelled to learn more. The idea that religion could hold such power of suffering over a nation, and that women could treat other women and young girls so appallingly, was astonishing.
My research came from speaking directly to people, reading survivors' accounts, and learning from families affected. There is remarkably little official literature available, much of it destroyed or sealed by religious orders and government bodies. Despite this, one thing became abundantly clear. These stories were deliberately hushed. Outside of Ireland, few people I spoke to knew about these institutions, and those who did often did not want to speak of them at all.
My first instinct was that this should be a play. The spoken word felt like a respectful way to honour the women involved. But there was a problem. Every account described the same condition inside the laundries. Silence. Silence during work, meals, prayers, and even rest. The idea of a play with almost no dialogue felt impossible.
So how could I give these women and girls a voice?
Through music.
And so the idea for a piece of musical theatre was born.
Music immediately presented new challenges. The laundries existed for over two hundred years. Choosing a musical era felt almost impossible, until one shocking fact reframed everything. The final Magdalene Laundry closed in 1996. The same year the Spice Girls released Wannabe and Gina G topped the charts with Ooh Aah... Just A Little Bit. This was not distant history. I was fourteen when those songs were released.
That realisation shaped the score. A contemporary musical voice felt essential, not only to underline how recent these events were, but to give the piece the best chance of being heard by modern audiences. Subtle echoes of the 1990s are woven through the music as a reminder of the story's relevance.
Writing contemporary music brought its own risks. I made a promise early on that the music would never overpower the women or their stories. No vocal excess. No show for show's sake. The songs exist to serve the voices of these women, not to overshadow them.
I hope I have honoured that promise.
Most of all, I hope that the voices of the women, girls and survivors of the Magdalene Laundries will never be silenced again.
Steven Luke Walker
Be a part of the Journey
If you would like to explore how you can be part of Dirty Laundry's next chapter, we would love to hear from you.