Two boys
have a fight on a playground. One
of the boys takes a stick and knocks out two of the other boy's front
teeth. The parents meet to attempt to resolve the
situation. This is the premise of
Yasmina Reza's Tony Award winning play, God of Carnage. The work has undergone several
iterations from its original version in French to its English variations
translated by Christopher Hampton.
The play shares a theme with Ms. Reza's earlier work Art in that the
behavior of supposedly civilized adults is driven by the scenario to
devolve into absurdly violent behavior.
At the core of this exercise is a gaping hole caused by the parents and
the script forgetting the essential issue---the violent fight between the two
children.
God of
Carnage is provocative. The battle
between the two sets of parents takes shocking twists and turns as the facade
of civility is shattered. God of
Carnage is incredibly funny in the way watching a virtual train wreck is
hilarious in a macabre fashion.
The audience heartily laughed throughout the evening. Yet, God of Carnage the script is
ultimately unsatisfactory for failing to address the violent encounter between
the two children. In many
ways it is another facet of the growing awareness of bullying, showing that the
attitudes of the parents have a lot to do with their children's behavior.
This is a
terrific production. James Kronzer
has designed the apartment setting to show an immaculate home that doesn't
appear to be child friendly. Kathleen Geldard's costumes help clearly define
the personalities of the four characters.
Joe Calarco navigates his actors as they travel from careful strained
pleasantries to uninhibited emotional outbursts. In particular his choices involving the placement of the
most antagonistic parents verbally sparring from the far ends of the stage is
inspired.
The four
actors are incredibly well cast.
Paul Morella is perfect as Alan Raleigh, a corporate lawyer more wedded
to his cell phone than concerned with the violent behavior of his son. As his
wife, Annette, Vanessa Lock is all tightly wound until the first shocking
moment of the play, then she unravels into an emotional prowler. Andy Brownstein is Michael Novak, the
charming lug who loosens everyone up with liberal doses of alcohol. The astounding Naomi Jacobson, as his
wife, Veronica, is controlling and self-righteous even while resorting to
violent reactions.
If you go
to see God of Carnage you will find a darkly humorous play filled with
excellent performances. Yet the
heart of the story is missing. If
there are any lessons to be learned from the awareness of the problem of bullying brought to national attention by the recent documentary Bully it is this. Veronica has
no interest in what might have provoked the violent attack on her son. She is wrong. It is vitally important that we see the
real causes and effects of children who violently attack one another and the
description of the injuries to the boy in the play are horrific. The real issues that God of Carnage
barely scratches the surface of are no laughing matter.
God of
Carnage is being performed at Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia through
June 24, 2012. For tickets and
other performance information please visit www.signature-theatre.org.
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