The Cold Buffet by Elijah Young

Directed by Wendie Middleton
Presented by Middlesbrough Little Theatre Ltd.

We’re very proud to be performing this play as it is written by ex-Middlesbrough Youth Theatre, MLT History Boy and now Smoggie Queens star, Elijah Young.

“We're family. We don't have to like each other.”

Things are never easy for Ellis when the family gets together. A dad who doesn't get him, a cousin who can do no wrong, a (not-so-passive) aggressive grandma, his dad's latest intolerable girlfriend and a grandpa in an urn are just some of the things Ellis has to contend with. When it begins to become tradition at these occasions for true feelings to be unearthed, is it finally time for Ellis to cut ties?

Set in the back room of a social club, the play takes us through a wake, a wedding and a christening, and lifts the lid on the tensions behind every family ritual. Many things change over the years but something that will always remain is the same cold buffet.

It's a delicious North East family saga laced with dry humour and a good dose of family tension.