Playwright Yasmine Reza’s sharp-edged play GOD OF CARNAGE is a comedy of manners without the manners.
This is deliciously savage satire that pits two sets of parents who meet up to deal with the unruly behaviour of their children. A calm and rational debate between grown-ups about the need to teach their kids how to behave properly? Or a hysterical night of name calling, shaming, tanties and tears before bedtime.
Set in present day Melbourne or Sydney, GOD OF CARNAGE critiques the veneer of civility and the complexities of adult relationships while exploring themes of morality, conflict and the inherent brutality within society.
This is a one -act play written by Yasmine Reza in 2008 depicts the trifles that make up the core of human interaction. The two couples try to solve diplomatically the misdemeanour caused by their sons until the mask of civility falls off. Yasmine is known for her sharp wit and commentary on contemporary anxieties and concerns, stripping back her characters to leave them on stage bare for the audience then to make up their mind what they think of them.
The play at it’s core, resembles the questions raised in ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf’ and to a degree ’The Slap’ by Christos Tsiolkas. It speaks volumes about the shallow truth in lives people are living, while the facade of moral codes crumble highlighting the collapse of marriage and failure of parenting. What starts as a mere discussion to solve a crisis, at the end becomes a mirror for society to look and see a bit of themselves.
The cast, Jim Adamic, Rainier Hart, Arran McKenna and Jenna Roberts, are perfect in executing fast paced roles in a manner that is excellent in delivery. My only gripe is the acoustics. The female voices were at a high pitch and came across as squeaky and inaudible, but their timing and stagecraft perfect.
The male roles were fluid and generous. Great selection of actors. The performances- slick across the board- are a little hammy with big swinging arm gestures and exaggerated movement bringing heightened theatricality, even when racism rears its head in the plotline. There’s a certain deliciousness in seeing these characters unravel as they hit the rumours and shoot their pseudo-polite salves.
The play brings to the fore the superficiality of the middle class and exposes the hypocrisy which they hold to. Its a dark comedy, more tragic than comic, that explores and explodes the veneer of respectability, revealing the savage mess beneath. The actors’ sense of timing in the fast-paced play is superb. Yes we are laughing, but it hurts.
The relationships between each character are perfectly captured as interactions shift and sway from friendship to animosity and outright attack. Its a pleasure seeing four actors sparkling and sparring.
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