The aptly named play Consumed, written by Karis Kelly won the Women’s Prize for Playwriting in 2022, is a dark, deliciously humorous yet disturbing drama, set around the kitchen table in Northern Ireland. It is Eileen’s 90th birthday party and her daughter Gilly, granddaughter Jenny and great granddaughter Muireann gather for the first time in three years to celebrate. However, the cracks; long since painfully covered; appear in this intentionally slow burning and powerful script. Expertly written, the intergenerational differences of Northern Irish women is laid bare – with all its historical ‘Troubles’, trauma and repressed family tension. With ‘food’, perception and more than one skeleton in the cupboard, this four performer play has first rate performances that are unnerving from the onset. The atmosphere is tense and manic in nature – yet the comic timing juxtaposes the strain.
Katie Posner directs the domestic chaos, laced with the themes of female generational identity, with much aplomb. Consumed is loud and proud from its onset, making the audience sit up from its very opening sequence. With an intricate naturalistic set design by Lily Arnold we; the audience; are positioned in the kitchen and privy to the ‘unearthing’ and crumbling of the precarious outward presentation of domestic harmony.
This emotionally raw piece of theatre is expertly performed as a ‘four hander’ by Julia Dearden as Eileen and the birthday girl. Her revelations are outrageously shocking with an abundance of witty, crude and colourful. Her daughter Gilly played by Andrea Irvine is a manic character from the onset, non-more evident than from her unsettling laughter. Her hoarding tendencies an obvious sign of her mental instability and need for ‘security’. Eileen’s granddaughter Jenny (Caoimhe Farren) gives a strong performance using alcohol to numb reality and hide her deep seated and inherited regressive tensions. Fourteen-year-old Muireann, a sensitive soul, is brought to life by Muireann Ni Fhaogain, her character develops as issues such as eating disorders highlight the intergenerational trauma that consumes her life.
This play is packed full of themes and issues and occasionally these are not fully explored – maybe due to their late introduction in the drama or the sheer number of them. The dark and shocking conclusion to the play leaves much for the audience to digest. A strong dramatic technique to keep the play ruminating in the mind long after the performance concludes.
All in all, this is a very cleverly written play, with more than enough content and themes to keep the audience totally engrossed and questioning. With strong language and covering unsettling adult themes, Consumed; although extremely witty, with many laugh out loud moments; is not a comfortable watch and nor is it intended to be.
So, invitation in hand, you are invited to Eileen’s 90th birthday party, at the Playhouse Sheffield until Saturday 11th October 2025. Don’t forget to wear your party hat and eat your party food!
Reviewer: Tracey Bell
Reviewed: 25th September 2025
North West End UK Rating: