| Award-winning pitch-black comedy Consumed comes to Leeds Playhouse next month. |
Four generations of Northern Irish women reunited under one roof in a house full of hungry ghosts with more than one skeleton in the closet. What could possibly go wrong?
Consumed is a twisted comedy of dysfunctional family dynamics, generational revolt and national boundaries by Karis Kelly, winner of the Women’s Prize for Playwriting 2022.
Karis Kelly: “Consumed starts as a domestic, kitchen-sink drama, transforming itself into a surreal piece of magical realism. Eileen, Gilly, Jenny and Muireann are reunited for Eileen’s 90th birthday party in the family home in Bangor, Northern Ireland. Through the reunion of these four women across four generations, the story explores the divisions within families, the trauma passed down through the generations in the North of Ireland, as well as attitudes towards violence and mental health.”
A Paines Plough, Belgrade Theatre, Sheffield Theatres and Women’s Prize for Playwriting production, in association with the Lyric Belfast, Consumed is directed by Paines Plough’s Joint Artistic Director Katie Posner. The cast includes Julia Dearden (Derry Girls; After Life; Dancing at Lughnasa), Caoimhe Farren (The Ferryman; Derry Girls), Andrea Irvine (Blue Lights; Line of Duty) and Muireann Ní Fhaogáin, who is making her professional stage debut.
Joining them in the creative team are Lily Arnold as Set and Costume Designer, Beth Duke as Sound Designer and Composer, Guy Hoare as Lighting Designer, Suzanne Bell as Dramaturg, Gina Donnelly as Assistant Director, and Jacob Sparrow as the Casting Director.
Kelly commented: “I am absolutely delighted to be working with such an incredible creative team. For me, to be working with a full Irish cast, rehearsing at the London Irish Centre (where I attended many cultural events growing up) is a full circle, dream come true moment.”
Director Katie Posner added: “From the first moment I read it for the Women’s Prize for Playwriting, Consumed gripped me completely. As the family reunion unravels, the story peels back the wallpaper to reveal the tensions between four generations of Northern Irish women, speaking to the silences and secrets passed through them all. Karis invites us into a world that feels disturbingly, viscerally, hilariously familiar – especially to anyone who’s been shushed at a family dinner!”
A Paines Plough, Belgrade Theatre, Sheffield Theatres and Women’s Prize for Playwriting production.
In association with the Lyric Belfast
Courtyard Theatre at Leeds Playhouse10-13 September
Age guide 14+
Box office 0113 213 7700
Book online leedsplayhouse.org.uk
Access Performances:
BSL interpreted: Thursday 11 September, 7.45pm
Captioned: Saturday 13 September, 7.45pm
Access productions at Leeds Playhouse are sponsored by Principal and Access Partner Irwin Mitchell
Main image: Julia Dearden, Caoimhe Farren, Andrea Irvine, Muireann Ni Fhaogain.
Photography by Pamela Raith.
