Paines Plough has unveiled its 2025 programme, featuring two brand new commissions set to premiere at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe before embarking on national tours.
The first of these is Consumed, a twisted dark comedy by Karis Kelly, winner of the Women’s Prize for Playwriting. Directed by Paines Plough’s Joint Artistic Director Katie Posner, the play explores generational trauma, family dynamics, and national identity.
Set during a 90th birthday party, Consumed brings together four generations of Northern Irish women under one roof, where secrets and ghosts of the past come to light.
Kelly said of the play: “A house full of hungry ghosts, with more than one skeleton in the closet. Turn off your phones at dinner.”
Consumed will preview at the Belgrade Theatre’s See It First Festival in Coventry on 25–26 July, before premiering at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh from 31 July to 24 August. The production will then tour to Coventry, Leeds, Guildford, and Sheffield in September and October.
Also premiering this summer is Ordinary Decent Criminal, a new play by Ed Edwards, performed by political comedian and actor Mark Thomas. The play is directed by Charlotte Bennett, Paines Plough’s Joint Artistic Director.
Set in the aftermath of the Strangeways Prison Riot, Ordinary Decent Criminal follows recovering addict Frankie as he navigates a radical new prison experiment. The play explores themes of justice, revolution, and redemption.
Edwards and Thomas previously collaborated on England & Son and The Political History of Smack and Crack, both of which received critical acclaim.
Ordinary Decent Criminal will debut at Tech Cube Zero at Summerhall during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, before touring to venues across the UK including Exeter, Plymouth, Brighton, Canterbury, Oxford, Scarborough, and Manchester from October to December.
In addition to these new works, Paines Plough celebrates the return of Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe. The beloved play will run at @sohoplace in London’s West End from 1 August to 27 September.
Produced by Second Half Productions in association with Nica Burns and Paines Plough, the West End run will feature a rotating cast including Lenny Henry, Ambika Mod, Sue Perkins, and Jonny Donahoe himself.
Every Brilliant Thing first premiered at Paines Plough’s Roundabout at Summerhall in 2014 and has since toured globally and been adapted into an HBO film. The play tells the story of a child who creates a list of everything brilliant in the world to help their mother battle depression.
Joint Artistic Directors Katie Posner and Charlotte Bennett said: “It’s shaping up to be another huge year for Paines Plough, with two brand new plays touring the country, one of our classics opening a new production in the West End, and our continued support for writers with Tour the Writer and Women’s Prize for Playwriting.”
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
