EDINBURGH 2025: Review: CONSUMED, Traverse Theatre

Four generations of Northern Irish women gather for a 90th birthday party in Karis Kelly’s Consumed, and what unfolds is a pitch-black dark comedy with razor wit and gasp-inducing shock. Eileen (Julia Dearden), Jenny (Caoimhe Farren), Gilly (Andrea Irvine) and Muireann (Muireann Ní Fhaogáin) initially present a hyper-realistic family: they laugh, they bicker, and beneath it all, they carry the weight of generational trauma. It’s laugh-out-loud funny one moment and devastatingly reflective the next, forcing us to think about what it really means to be Northern Irish.

Kelly’s writing is razor-sharp, weaving together petty intergenerational squabbles (over leg hair, fashion, body image, and how, or whether, to impress men) with deeper questions of identity, therapy, and survival. The dialogue is snappy, and every actress holds her own. The chemistry on stage is electric, showcasing a family full of contradictions and complicated love.

Visually, the play begins with a beautiful naturalistic set, giving us kitchen-sink drama vibes. However this transcends into something far more abstract as a massive plot twist detonates the ending. It’s a shocking shift expanding the piece from family drama into something larger and more unsettling.

It’s easy to see why Kelly won the 2022 Women’s Prize for Playwriting - it was an honour to witness such raw, powerful acting from a four woman ensemble so diverse in age. I was consumed by Consumed from start to finish.

Consumed is at the Traverse Theatre until 24 August

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