Review: ‘Consumed’ Unites Four Generations in a Fiery Family Showdown

Karis Kelly’s award-winning play Consumed is currently playing at the Park Theatre to 18 April. The piece won the 2022 Women’s Prize for Playwriting. Its runtime is about 75 minutes.

The action takes place in Northern Ireland. Four generations of women gather for a birthday. The celebrant is 90-year-old Eileen.

Characters and performances

Julia Dearden plays Eileen. The character is foul-mouthed and sharp-tongued. She dominates scenes with equal parts menace and magnetism.

Andrea Irvine plays Gilly, Eileen’s 65-year-old daughter. Gilly is fussy and often drops her voice before delivering a barb. Tensions between mother and daughter form the play’s core.

Caoimhe Farren appears as Jenny, Eileen’s granddaughter. Jenny returns from London and often reaches for wine to steady herself. The cast also includes Muireann Ní Fhaogáin as the teenager Muireann, who endures being deliberately misnamed Marie by Eileen.

Production and staging

Katie Posner directs this UK tour, which included a run at the Edinburgh Festival. Lily Arnold’s set design introduces jolting visual shifts. A gathering storm outside mirrors the growing violence inside the house.

The production moves from naturalism into more uncanny territory. The stage floor reveals a key element in the final moments. A version of “Happy Birthday” appears during a revelation-packed ending.

Writing and tone

Kelly’s script links the political with the personal. The play repeatedly nods to Northern Ireland’s legacy of violence. At one point, a line states, “war turns us all into beasts.”

The work favors bluntness over subtlety. Some scenes recall Martin McDonagh’s rough comic cruelty. Others evoke the claustrophobic mother-daughter dynamics of The Beauty Queen of Leenane.

Theatrical strengths and limits

The older women are the most fully drawn characters. Their histories and shared toxicity carry emotional weight. Younger characters sometimes feel less developed by comparison.

Memorable moments include a force-feeding episode and fast tonal shifts. The play’s profanity and dark humor may divide audiences. Yet the performances make those choices compelling.

Review: ‘Consumed’ Unites Four Generations in a Fiery Family Showdown is an apt summary of the production’s focus on intergenerational conflict. The piece combines sharp dialogue with an unsettling, sepulchral finish.

Tickets for Consumed at the Park Theatre are available via Filmogaz.com. Photo credit: Helen Murray.