Anyone who grew up in a large Irish family like I did knows only too well that every family gathering has the potential to kick off, but thankfully I’ve never experienced anything as grim as this birthday party from hell.
Four generations of a Northern Irish family have come together for potty mouthed matriarch Julia’s 90th birthday lunch, presided over by her daughter Gilly who constantly seems on the edge of a mental meltdown. Gilly’s daughter Jenny has flown over from London with her woke daughter Murieannn who was born in England, but all four women have intergenerational trauma that comes out as they really take the gloves off. And there’s another ghost hanging over this feast that offers a delicious twist as the women batter each other emotionally as all their skeletons come tumbling out of the closet they’ve locked them away in.
Karis Kelly’s award winning short play is full of the dark humour that anyone who has visited Northern Ireland will be very familiar with, and there are plenty of laugh out loud moments amidst the emotional maelstrom. Julia Dearden makes the most of the role of a lifetime as foul mouthed and bigoted Presbyterian Eileen who at 90 just doesn’t a toss what she says after years of personal repression, with some hateful outbursts caused by what she sees as a political persecution that she doesn’t quite understand.
Kelly explores the idea that the women’s trauma is passed down through the generations and even delves into the question of a genetic link, as the failings of all three mothers in their cheap party hats are revealed in unsparing detail as the lunch disintegrates into angry chaos. It’s left to young Muireann, with her own secret, who sits across two very different cultures to try and calm things down as the so-called grown ups tear into each other. There’s also an interesting subtext exploring the heavy psychological damage suffered by both communities during the Troubles, which is still very much in play decades after the Good Friday Agreement.
Andrea Irvine’s brittle Jilly is a masterclass in nervous energy and barely repressed rage as she gamely tries to keep the celebration on track. Her daughter Jenny is swigging red wine like pop and Caoimhe Farren’s witty performance reveals just why as she gets into it with her mum. Making her professional debut Murieann Ni Fhaogain more than holds her own in a very experienced cast as the troubled teenager, especially as her character mainly consists of an obvious set of woke clichés until later in the action.
Consumed does lose its way with a pointless magical realism coda, which seems to have tacked on from another play entirely, and that leaves you wanting more of four complicated women who might have just begun the process of healing in very different ways.
Despite that Consumed is raw and vital writing that seems to be a rarity in the modern theatre world that all too often chooses to play it safe. The humour in Consumed may be dark as hell but thanks to a totally committed cast it is a hugely entertaining piece that pulls no punches.
Consumed is at Leeds Playhouse until Saturday 13th September. To book www.leedsplayhouse.org.uk or 0113 2137700.
Reviewer: Paul Clarke
Reviewed: 11th September 2025
North West End UK Rating: