Paines Plough announces 2025 season

Paines Plough has announced its 2025 programming, featuring two new plays set to tour the UK.

The season follows the company’s 50th anniversary fundraising gala at the Criterion Theatre, which reaffirmed its commitment to supporting new writing.

Karis Kelly’s award-winning Consumed, directed by joint artistic director Katie Posner, is presented in collaboration with Belgrade Theatre, Sheffield Theatres, and the Women’s Prize for Playwriting. The play follows four generations of Northern Irish women reuniting at a 90th birthday party, exploring family dynamics, generational trauma, and national identity. Performances will take place at Belgrade Theatre and Sheffield Theatres (as revealed in their new season yesterday), with further dates to be announced.

Ed Edwards will mark his return to Paines Plough with Ordinary Decent Criminal, following The Political History of Smack and Crack and England and Son. The play stars political comedian Mark Thomas as Frankie, a recovering addict navigating a liberal prison experiment. It will preview at Live Theatre Newcastle, with a wider tour to follow.

The company also continues its writer development programme Tour the Writer, now in its third year, and is running a fundraising campaign, including an auction for a personalised One Page Play by playwrights including Mike Bartlett, Dennis Kelly, and Simon Stephens.