Consumed | Yvonne Arnaud

An intimate journey through an hour in four generations of women's lives that exposes the audience to some incredibly ugly truths and harsh realities, Consumed is a dynamic and explosive triumph by Karis Kelly.

With a script that enables the audience to laugh at the hilarity whilst, at the same time, feel sick due to these characters' ways, means and responses, Kelly does an incredible job of crafting this piece so that every single character can be loved and hated by audience members at any point within the play; something that made this piece so exciting and successful.

The show is built around four women and their clear, razor sharp personalities. As an audience, we got to explore the intergenerational dynamics which was a treat to watch. Whilst the “woke gen-z” character archetype is quite often overdone and feels quite contrived, Kelly made it work as the piece progressed and this archetype did not feel jarring unlike many other pieces that have a teenage character present.

This was all aided by the charming and intricate performance delivered by Muireann Ní Fhaogáin, watching her react in real time on stage felt like a real treat for everyone in the audience. Whilst her character certainly took on the responsibility of some incredibly dark and uncomfortable topics, she delivered them with a real feeling of reality and power.

All four of the women delivered some exceptional performances with Andrea Irvine being able to shift from nonchalant to mad with the drop of a hat, Julia Dearden having some of the sharpest wit consistently changing the atmosphere for the audience, and Caoimhe Farren bringing an engaging, biting and real performance that was grounded in nothing but reality. A true powerhouse casting was made for this show, with this small ensemble bringing the stakes and emotions in a phenomenal way that left the audience consistently wanting more.

Another magnificent part of the piece was the constantly growing and developing storyline that blossomed as the show went on. Consumed has so many peaks, meaning the audience were consistently feeling as if it might have just reached its climax before it went on to reach another new height - leaving no air space and facilitating an environment that repelled the concept of boredom.

However, the finale within the show did have a very stagnant switch in style that suddenly became very confusing, slightly taking the audience out of the story and into somewhere entirely new. Whilst the very final button, per say, of the show was incredibly powerful; with the magnificent set design by Lily Arnold really aiding all the themes of the piece coming together, the lead up to such felt out of place. Whilst having a switch up like this was not monumentally uncomfortable, it did still feel slightly odd as a viewer.

Overall, Consumed is one of the most interesting political pieces of theatre that has been put out recently; being able to witness four different generations perspectives on social and emotional politics that felt genuine was incredibly powerful on a stage. Kelly and the ensemble have clearly done an incredible job of crafting this mix so that it works as well as it does; leaving the audience flabbergasted at the edge of their seats throughout the entire piece.

★★★★☆ (4*)

Gifted tickets in return for an honest review | Photography by Pamela Raith