Paines Plough has unveiled its exciting programming for 2025, featuring two new commissions set to tour the UK. This announcement follows the company’s 50th anniversary fundraising gala at the Criterion Theatre, celebrating its legacy of supporting bold new stories and storytellers. The 50 for 50 campaign reaffirms Paines Plough’s commitment to the next 50 years of new writing.
In a co-production with Belgrade Theatre, Sheffield Theatres, and the Women’s Prize for Playwriting, Paines Plough presents Consumed by Karis Kelly, directed by Joint Artistic Director Katie Posner. This twisted tale of generational trauma, family dynamics, and national boundaries unfolds at a 90th birthday party where four generations of Northern Irish women reunite under one roof. Kelly, who won the Women’s Prize for Playwriting in 2021, is also the recipient of the Peggy Ramsay/Film4 Award. Consumed will perform at Belgrade Theatre and Sheffield Theatres, with additional tour dates to be announced.
Returning to Paines Plough is Ed Edwards with his new play Ordinary Decent Criminal. Edwards reunites with political comedian and actor Mark Thomas, who will play recovering addict Frankie in a liberal prison experiment. Ordinary Decent Criminal previews at Live Theatre Newcastle, with further tour dates to be announced. This co-production involves Paines Plough, Live Theatre, Theatre Royal Plymouth, and Ellie Keel Productions in association with Synergy Theatre Project.
Joint Artistic Directors Katie Posner and Charlotte Bennett commented: “It’s a massive pleasure to be bringing two new plays on tour this year with Paines Plough. They’re two pitch-black and hilarious stories of love and revolt. Both bring the conflicts of our past straight home to our present. Both go straight for the jugular. We’re so proud to be producing another Women’s Prize for Playwriting winner, this time bringing Karis Kelly’s gut-punching family saga out on tour. And alongside that, it’s a joy to reunite with writer Ed Edwards and legendary comedian Mark Thomas after their sell-out Roundabout hit ‘England & Son’, to bring a brand new decades-spanning story of prison and revolution to venues across the country, told in Mark’s inimitable style. We can’t wait to get started and to tell you more.”
The new season follows the award-winning play My Mother’s Funeral: The Show by Kelly Jones, which concluded its critically acclaimed tour in New York and London in February. Other highlights include the sell-out hit Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe at last year’s Roundabout in Edinburgh, and the upcoming production Shanghai Dolls by Amy Ng, produced by Kiln Theatre in association with Paines Plough, directed by Katie Posner. The company will also continue its writer development programme, Tour the Writer, in partnership with seven venues around the country.
As part of the 50 for 50 fundraising campaign, Paines Plough Patron James Graham and playwright Nick Payne have launched the Supporters Circle, aiming to recruit 50 patrons to pledge their support for the next three years. More information can be found here.
Additionally, Paines Plough announced an exclusive auction for a personalised One Page Play written by renowned playwrights Mike Bartlett, Chris Bush, Dennis Kelly, Simon Stephens, or Roy Williams. Proceeds will support new writing and writers. Interested bidders should email Paines Plough’s Executive Director at jodie@painesplough.com before 31 March 2025.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
