Consumed by Isla Cowan

SMHAF Podcast

Consumed is a ten minute audio work that explores the disorienting experience of eating disorder and the way in which negative, dangerous thoughts around food and the body are normalised in the media and in our society. Blending satirical sketches, details of eating disorder symptoms and statistics, and semi-confessional spoken word fragments, this audio piece delves into the messiness and complexity of connections between control, eating and the body. As well as navigating the all-consuming nature of negative body image, Consumed addresses the capitalist consumerism that paradoxically encourages ‘not consuming’ – encouraging dieting and weight loss – in order to sell products and make profit. Consumed was commissioned by the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival as part of My Normality, a series of artist commissions conceived in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Isla Cowan is a Scottish playwright, performer and director, currently based in Edinburgh. She specialises in creating ecofeminist work and believes in theatre that challenges both its audience and its makers. www.islacowan.com