The God of Carnage

Synopsis

What happens when two sets of parents meet up to deal with the unruly behaviour of their children? A calm and rational debate between grown-ups about the need to teach kids how to behave properly? Or a hysterical night of name-calling, tantrums and tears before bedtime? Boys will be boys, but the adults are usually worse - much worse.

Our Review:

26 March 2008

The impeccable progress of God of Carnage, Yazmina Reza’s savage new middle-class comedy translated by Christopher Hampton, was interrupted by a power failure on the first night. The stage went suddenly dark, the four characters picked out in silhouette as if in a stylishly under-lit European production by Giorgio Strehler or Patrice Chereau.

The effect was not inappropriate. Janet McTeer as Veronique had just been talking about the book she was writing on Darfur. Ralph Fiennes as Alain was slumped centre stage, embarking on a speech that showed dangerous signs of turning philosophical. A meeting of two couples to sort out the playground violence of their children was becoming something else.

Then a stage manager appeared, like a spaceman reporting to NASA, to tell us we had a problem. Five minutes later, the theatre owner, Cameron Mackintosh, and the producers, David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers, stood at the front of the stalls to say that the show ...

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Latest User Review

Ed - 21 May 2008:

Outstanding - in all departments. Should return with an equally amazing cast....

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