The Cold Buffet

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, away from the main action, 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.

Elijah Young's epic comedy The Cold Buffet follows the McCarthy family over five years of life, death and love. It's a delicious North East family saga laced with dry humour and a good dose of interpersonal tension.

This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere at Newcastle's Live Theatre, in October 2023.


About the Author
Elijah Young is a North-East based playwright from Teesside. He is an Associate Artist at Live Theatre, and his play The Cold Buffet was staged in October 2023 for their 50th Anniversary programme. He received the Young Writer Residency Award for his play Isolation at The Customs House and was named by North East British Theatre Guide as "Most Promising Newcomer 2019". He has also worked with several other theatres and companies in the region as a writer/dramaturg, his most recent work in 2022/23 being Remarkable Robin's Christmas Adventure (Alnwick Playhouse), Worlds Apart, Am I alone in this?, Father Unknown (Northern Stage). He was a part of the cohort for North East Voices BBC Writers Room in 2021 and in 2023/24 developed a TV development deal for the BBC in collaboration with Candle & Bell.