God of Carnage

Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play, The God of Carnage (originally in French Le Dieu du carnage) relates an evening in the lives of two couples, residents of a Brooklyn neighborhood, who meet to discuss a playground incident. Alan and Annette’s son hit Michael and Veronica’s son in the face with a stick, resulting in two broken teeth. The four of them agree to discuss the incident civilly, but, as the night wears on and drinks are imbibed, the polite veneer breaks down. The couples initially spar against each other, but the men gang up on the women and the spouses switch sides as the fighting continues. Any attempt at having a civilized discussion about whose child is responsible for the fight, and how the parents may have influenced such destructive behavior, quickly devolves into finger-pointing, name-calling, stomping around and throwing things. And that’s before they break out the rum! Reza’s play suggests that our civilized trappings do a poor job of hiding our venality and bile. This hilarious play, written by Yasmina Reza, translated into English from the original French by translator Christopher Hampton, will be directed by Lisa Wilson in the Doenges Theatre at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center May 6 through 14.