The God of Carnage: A Play (Ff
Plays) by Yasmina Reza
A Master Piece
What happens when two sets of parents meet up to deal with the unruly
behavior 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?
Christopher Hampton’s translation of Yasmina Reza’s sharp-edged new
play The God of Carnage premiered at Wyndham’s Theatre, London, in
March 2008 and at Bernard B. Jacobs Theater, New York City, in March
2009. The International Herald Tribune calls it “an expert piece of
stagecraft, and savagely funny.”

Personal Review: The God of Carnage: A Play (Ff Plays) by
Yasmina Reza
As I write this (May 26, 2009), "The God of Carnage" by Yasmina Reza is
a huge hit on Broadway and has numerous Tony nominations. As in "Life X
3" the dramatist has assembled four people in a room, two couples
Veronique and Michel Vallon paired against Alain and Annette Reille. The
Reille son Ferdinand has struck eleven-year-old Bruno Vallon with a stick
and knocked out two of the boy's teeth.
Two couples arguing over a children's playground fight? No, that would be
too easy for Reza. It's a contest that drags in the state of the two
marriages, the attributes and characters of all four adults. It becomes a war
of wills, probing the fabric of their lives and lies.
It's fun to watch these four people destroying themselves and each
other as battle lines are drawn and redrawn. The insults they throw at each
other are priceless. Loyalty to one's spouse becomes a disposable
commodity. Spouses turn on spouses; new alliances are formed and
dissolved. Vomit plays a role in the farce so be prepared. There are some
very funny lines. Michel says, "Puking seems to have perked you up."
Both men show off their macho credentials by boasting about being
gang members when they were kids. Bruno is accused of being a grass
(informer). Michel becomes a "murderer" because he has gotten rid of the
family's pet hamster, Nibbles, on the street. All of them are self-indulgent
yuppies who easily get off the subject of the kids and into their yuppyish
issues. Alain, a lawyer, is constantly talking on his cell phone until
someone puts it out of commission.
It's a very clever, focused play, full of laughs. The play owes
something to Absurdist traditions. The dialogue at times is inane and
absurdist, ridiculous. The way the trouble intensifies is like the proliferation
of chairs in Ionesco's famous play. The verbal slaughter that takes place
on the stage makes clear the title. Deep meaning and insights? No, but,
yes to stripping bare the pretensions and inner feelings of four self-
absorbed spoiled adult brats who are probably raising monsters like
themselves.
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