Consumed – Traverse Theatre

Playwright Karis Kelly believes in challenging audiences even if that makes them feel uncomfortable. And she certainly does that in ‘Consumed’ which opens the lid on a dysfunctional family in Northern Ireland.

Four generations of women gather in Bangor to celebrate the 90th birthday of Eileen who lives with Gilly, her 65 year old daughter. Gilly’s daughter, Jenny, aged 40, and her 14 year-old daughter, Muireann, fly over from London for the occasion.

Eileen wears a party hat as the play starts, but there is tension in the air as Gilly returns from her last minute shopping. And things don’t get any better when Jenny and Muireann arrive.

This is not an easy watch. Light moments are few and far between. And in fact what starts as a naturalistic kitchen sink drama develops into something much darker when Jenny and Muireann find out what happened earlier that day.

The ‘troubles’ may have officially ended in Northern Ireland in the 1990s, but they have cast a long shadow which affects even the generation which was born after the conflict ended. There is still a deeply divided community. Even the name ‘Northern Ireland’ is controversial with Catholics often referring instead to ‘the North of Ireland’.

In ‘Consumed’ Eileen is a dyed-in-the-wool Unionist who is implacably opposed to any talk of the reunification of Ireland, and disparagingly refers to Catholics as ‘Taigs’. Gilly is also a Unionist. Both of them make a point of saying they are not in Ireland, but Northern Ireland, and regard themselves as British or Northern Irish, but certainly not Irish.

Jenny who caused outrage by marrying a Catholic has more nuanced feelings about her national identity. And Muireann, born in England and with an English accent, is regarded as English by Eileen and Gilly, but astounds them when she says she is Irish.

But this family has many other issues. One of them is a compulsive hoarder, one drinks far too much, one has an eating disorder. Some of them can be violent. All of them feel let down to some extent by their closest relatives. Love is there, but rarely evident.  It’s overshadowed by resentment. There are too many secrets and important issues which rarely see the light of day.

I did feel there could have been a different emphasis at the start of the play. Despite being a dysfunctional family I would have expected more warmth when Jenny and Muireann reunite with Gilly and Eileen for the first time in three years. I was particularly struck by the frostiness and even open hostility between the teenager and her great granny. When they last met three years ago Muireann was only eleven years old.

A gentler, more nuanced start to this production would have drawn us in more, and given us a chance to feel more empathy for the characters. If we don’t like people at all, it is difficult to care about them. And I did for a long time find two of the characters very difficult to like.

Nevertheless director Katie Posner is to be congratulated for a stimulating production of this thought-provoking and explosive new play by Karis Kelly.

There is an excellent cast with four outstanding performances:

Julia Dearden gives a powerful performance as Eileen. It’s fascinating to watch as the bigoted battle-axe eventually reveals that her father was a Catholic.

Andrea Irvine is excellent as Gilly who has multiple issues in her relationships with her mother and daughter. A shocking revelation helps to explain her nervous energy, but she’s been a compulsive hoarder for a long time.

Caoimhe Farren superbly captures the emotional volatility of Jenny, a 40 year-old ordered by her mother and granny to wear tights to cover her unshaven legs. But later she is far from meek. She and her daughter are both seeing therapists. Jenny drinks far too much.

Muireann Ní Fhaogáin makes a wonderfully impressive professional stage debut as Muireann, the intelligent 14-year-old with an eating disorder who cares about the planet, and shows insight into intergenerational trauma and also the Great Famine.

Lily Arnold’s costumes are spot on, and her apparently realistic set has some intriguing surprises. Beth Duke has designed the evocative sound effects and composed some original mood-enhancing music. Guy Hoare’s lighting is excellent, particularly in surrealistic moments towards the end of the play.

‘Consumed’ is not for the faint-hearted. It offers a challenging evening which poses profound questions about humankind. But it ends with a message of hope – if we can only communicate and let the light in, we can at least improve our chances of building a better future.

‘Consumed’ is a Paines Plough, Belgrade Theatre, Sheffield Theatres and Women’s Prize for Playwriting production, in association with the Lyric Belfast.

‘Consumed’ runs until 24th August.  Tickets available athttps://www.traverse.co.uk/whats-on 

Reviewer: Tom Scott

Reviewed: 3rd August 2025

North West End UK Rating: