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Consumed

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  3w, 1girl(s)

Karis Kelly

Four generations of Northern Irish women, reunited under one roof.

Consumed

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    3w, 1girl(s)
  • Duration
    Duration
    90 minutes
Accolades
Accolades

  • Winner of the Women’s Prize for Playwriting 2022

Details

Summary

A 90th birthday party that no-one seems to want.

Four generations of Northern Irish women, reunited under one roof.

A house full of hungry ghosts, with more than one skeleton in the closet.

Turn off your phones at dinner.


Winner of the Women’s Prize for Playwriting 2022, Karis Kelly’s play is a pitch-black and twisted tale of dysfunctional family dynamics, generational trauma and national boundaries.

History

Consumed was originally produced by Paines Plough, Belgrade Theatre, Sheffield Theatres and the Women’s Prize for Playwriting, in association with the Lyric Belfast. It was first performed at the Belgrade Theatre on 25 July 2025, and subsequently transferred to the Traverse Theatre at the Edinburgh Fringe on 31 July 2025.

EILEEN GILLESPIE (90) – East Belfast through and through

GILLY GILLESPIE (68) – Bangor, airs and graces.

JENNY GILLESPIE (40) – A hybrid. She’s not sure where she’s from anymore.

MUIREANN O’SHEA (14) – West London. A young woman of (mostly) measured words, but when you get her going, she’s hard to stop

  • Setting

    A dated kitchen in a house in Bangor, a seaside town in Northern Ireland.

  • Duration 90 minutes

Media

“Kelly’s writing is consistently sharp and incredibly funny.” – WhatsOnStage

“Karis Kelly’s writing is sharp, layered and asks a lot of questions.” – Broadway Baby


“An utterly bewitching experience.” – Edinburgh Reviews


“Hilariously funny but with tension and twists galore.” – Lisa in the Theatre


“A striking piece of theatre: thoughtful, bitterly funny, and emotionally raw.” – One4Review


“Dark and hilarious political bedlam.” – The Wee Review

Licensing & Materials



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Scripts

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Authors

Karis Kelly

Karis Kelly
Karis Kelly won the Women’s Prize for Playwriting 2021 for their play Consumed. Karis was selected for the 2022 Playwright’s Scheme Bursary run by the Peggy Ramsay Foundation with Film4 and the Maria Bjornson Memorial Fund, developing a new play with the Lyric, Belfast, as th ...
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