God of Carnage
Encyclopedia
God of Carnage is a play by Yasmina Reza
Yasmina Reza
Yasmina Reza is a French playwright, actress, novelist and screenwriter. Her parents were both of Jewish origin, her father Iranian, her mother Hungarian.-Career:...

. It is about two pairs of parents, one of whose child has hurt the other at a public park, who meet to discuss the matter in a civilized manner. However, as the evening goes on, the parents become increasingly childish, resulting in the evening devolving into chaos. The play was a success in its original French language, but has been equally acclaimed in its other English-translated productions in both London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

.

Plot

Before the play begins, two 11-year-old children, Ferdinand Reille and Bruno Houllié (Benjamin and Henry in the Broadway production), get involved in argument because Bruno refuses to let Ferdinand join his 'gang'. Ferdinand knocks out two of Bruno's teeth with a stick. That night, the parents of both children meet to discuss the matter. Ferdinand's father, Alain (Alan in the Broadway production), is a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 who is never off his mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...

. Ferdinand's mother, Annette is in "wealth management" (her husband's wealth, to be precise), and consistently wears good shoes. Bruno's father, Michel (Michael in the Broadway production), is a self-made wholesaler with an unwell mother. Bruno's mother, Véronique (Veronica in the Broadway production), is writing a book about Darfur
Darfur
Darfur is a region in western Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur...

. As the evening goes on, the meeting degenerates into the four getting into irrational arguments, and their discussion falls into the loaded topics of misogyny
Misogyny
Misogyny is the hatred or dislike of women or girls. Philogyny, meaning fondness, love or admiration towards women, is the antonym of misogyny. The term misandry is the term for men that is parallel to misogyny...

, racial prejudice
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...

 and homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...

. One of the central dramatic moments of the play occurs when Annette vomits onstage, all over the coffee table
Coffee table
A coffee table, also called a cocktail table, is a style of long, low table which is designed to be placed in front of a sofa, to support beverages , magazines, books , and other small items to be used while sitting, such as beverage coasters. Coffee tables are usually found in the living room or...

 and book
Coffee table book
A coffee table book is a hardcover book that is intended to sit on a coffee table or similar surface in an area where guests sit and are entertained, thus inspiring conversation or alleviating boredom. They tend to be oversized and of heavy construction, since there is no pressing need for...

s.

Original Production

The play was first directed by Jürgen Gosch and performed in Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...

 on 8 December 2006. In January 2008, the play was performed in Paris starring Isabelle Huppert
Isabelle Huppert
Isabelle Anne Madeleine Huppert is a French actress who has appeared in over 90 film and television productions since 1971. She has had 14 films in official competition at the Cannes Film Festival, and won the Best Actress Award twice, for Violette Nozière and La pianiste . She is also the most...

 and Eric Elmosnino
Eric Elmosnino
Eric Elmosnino is a French actor and musician of jewish origin. He is best known internationally for portraying Serge Gainsbourg in the film Gainsbourg for which he won the César Award for Best Actor....

, and in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 on 25 March 2008, in a translation by Christopher Hampton
Christopher Hampton
Christopher James Hampton CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, screen writer and film director. He is best known for his play based on the novel Les Liaisons dangereuses and the film version Dangerous Liaisons and also more recently for writing the nominated screenplay for the film adaptation of...

.

Original London Production

Christopher Hampton
Christopher Hampton
Christopher James Hampton CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, screen writer and film director. He is best known for his play based on the novel Les Liaisons dangereuses and the film version Dangerous Liaisons and also more recently for writing the nominated screenplay for the film adaptation of...

's English translation of the play was first presented in a UK Premiere at the Gielgud Theatre
Gielgud Theatre
The Gielgud Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, London, at the corner of Rupert Street. The house currently has 889 seats on three levels.-History:...

 in London's West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...

 on 25 March 2008. This production was directed by Matthew Warchus
Matthew Warchus
-Life:Warchus studied music and drama at Bristol University. He has directed for the National Youth Theatre, Bristol Old Vic, Donmar Warehouse, Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal National Theatre, Opera North, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Welsh National Opera, English National Opera and in the West...

 and starred Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes is an English actor and film director. He has appeared in such films as The English Patient, In Bruges, The Constant Gardener, Strange Days, The Duchess and Schindler's List....

, Tamsin Greig
Tamsin Greig
Tamsin Greig is an English actress principally known for two Channel 4 television comedy parts: Fran Katzenjammer in Black Books and Dr. Caroline Todd in Green Wing...

, Janet McTeer
Janet McTeer
Janet McTeer, OBE is a British actress.-Life and career:McTeer was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom, the daughter of Jean and Alan McTeer...

 and Ken Stott
Ken Stott
Kenneth Campbell "Ken" Stott is a Scottish actor, particularly known in the United Kingdom for his many roles in television.-Early life:...

. On the opening night of the performance, there was a power failure about an hour into the show. The show therefore had to continue in emergency lighting. The London production was widely acclaimed, receiving the Olivier Award for Best New Play of the year.

2009 Broadway Production

After some minor changes to the English script to accommodate American audiences, a Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 production opened at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
The Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 242 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan.Designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp, it opened as the Royale Theatre on January 11, 1927 with a musical entitled Piggy...

 in previews on February 28, 2009, and officially on March 22, 2009. Originally planned for a limited engagement to close July 19, 2009, the run was extended through February 28, 2010 before converting to an open-ended run. From July 27, 2009 to September 8, 2009, the play went dark to allow for the principal cast to tie up prior engagements before returning to fulfill their contracts. Directed once again by Matthew Warchus, the original cast included Jeff Daniels
Jeff Daniels
Jeffrey Warren "Jeff" Daniels is an American actor, musician and playwright. He founded a non-profit theatre company, the Purple Rose Theatre Company, in his home state of Michigan...

, Hope Davis
Hope Davis
Hope Davis is an American actress. She has starred in more than 20 feature films, including About Schmidt, Arlington Road, Flatliners, Mumford, American Splendor, The Lodger and Next Stop Wonderland....

, James Gandolfini
James Gandolfini
James J. Gandolfini, Jr. is an Italian American actor. He is best known for his role as Tony Soprano in the HBO TV series The Sopranos, about a troubled crime boss struggling to balance his family life and career in the Mafia...

 and Marcia Gay Harden
Marcia Gay Harden
Marcia Gay Harden is an American film and theatre actress. Harden's breakthrough role was in Miller's Crossing and then The First Wives Club which was followed by several roles which gained her wider fame including the hit comedy Flubber and Meet Joe Black...

. All four actors were nominated for Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...

s for their performances. Harden won the Tony for Best Leading Actress in a Play. The Broadway production closed on June 6, 2010 playing 24 previews and 452 regular performances. It is the third-longest running play of the 2000s (after The 39 Steps
The Thirty-nine Steps
The Thirty-Nine Steps is an adventure novel by the Scottish author John Buchan. It first appeared as a serial in Blackwood's Magazine in August and September 1915 before being published in book form in October that year by William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh...

 and August: Osage County
August: Osage County
August: Osage County is a darkly comedic play by Tracy Letts. It was the recipient of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play premiered at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago on 28 June 2007, and closed on 26 August 2007. Its Broadway debut was at the Imperial Theater on 4 December 2007 and...

).While receiving mostly positive reviews, the play has also generated some negative reactions. Brendan Lemon of the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....

called the play "this piece of shallow arrogance", adding, "I detest the pathetic complicity between this author and her audiences... when I left the theatre, I thought: I’ll never laugh again."Broadway cast replacements include Ken Stott
Ken Stott
Kenneth Campbell "Ken" Stott is a Scottish actor, particularly known in the United Kingdom for his many roles in television.-Early life:...

 (who had starred in the London production), Christine Lahti
Christine Lahti
Christine Lahti is an American actress and film director. Lahti has had a successful career in television and film. Throughout her career she has garnered 2 Golden Globe Awards from 8 Nominations, An Emmy Award from 6 Nominations and 2 Academy Award nominations...

, Jimmy Smits
Jimmy Smits
Jimmy Smits is an American actor. Smits is perhaps best known for his roles as attorney Victor Sifuentes on the 1980s legal drama L.A. Law, as NYPD Detective Bobby Simone on the 1990s police drama NYPD Blue, and as Congressman Matt Santos on The West Wing...

, Annie Potts
Annie Potts
Anne Hampton "Annie" Potts is an American film and television actress. She is known for her roles in the 1980s popular films such as Ghostbusters , Pretty in Pink , Jumpin' Jack Flash , Who's Harry Crumb? and Ghostbusters II . Potts is also known as a voice-actress...

 (making her Broadway debut), Jeff Daniels (returning in the role of Michael and not his original role, Alan), Janet McTeer
Janet McTeer
Janet McTeer, OBE is a British actress.-Life and career:McTeer was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom, the daughter of Jean and Alan McTeer...

 (who had appeared in the London production), Dylan Baker
Dylan Baker
Dylan Baker is an American actor, known for playing supporting roles in both major studio and independent films.-Early life:...

, Lucy Liu
Lucy Liu
Lucy Alexis Liu is an American actress and film producer. She became known for playing the role of the vicious and ill-mannered Ling Woo in the television series Ally McBeal , and has also appeared in several Hollywood films including Charlie's Angels, Chicago, Kill Bill, and Kung Fu Panda.-Early...

 (in her Broadway debut).

Other Productions

The Irish Premiere took place in February 2011 at the Gate Theatre
Gate Theatre
The Gate Theatre, in Dublin, was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál Mac Liammóir, initially using the Abbey Theatre's Peacock studio theatre space to stage important works by European and American dramatists...

, Dublin starring Maura Tierney
Maura Tierney
Maura Therese Tierney is an American film and television actress, who is best known for her roles as Lisa Miller on NewsRadio and Abby Lockhart on the television medical drama ER.-Early life:...

, Ardal O'Hanlon
Ardal O'Hanlon
Ardal O'Hanlon is an Irish comedian and actor, best known for his roles in television sitcoms as Father Dougal McGuire in Father Ted and George Sunday in My Hero.-Early life:...

, Owen Roe and Donna Dent, and directed by Alan Stanford
Alan Stanford
Alan Stanford is a well known Irish-based actor and director.-Personal life:Stanford has lived in Ireland since 1969. He trained as an actor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London....

. The Chicago Premiere was presented at the Goodman Theatre
Goodman Theatre
The Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of Chicago theatre, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization...

 in March 2011 directed by Rick Snyder. The play has just finished a run at the Guthrie Theatre, Minneapolis, MN.

"God of Carnage" will make its Portland premiere at Artists Repertory Theatre
Artists Repertory Theatre
Artists Repertory Theatre is a critically acclaimed professional non-profit theatre located in Portland, Oregon. The company was established in 1982 and focuses on presenting the works of contemporary playwrights, including many world premieres...

 as part of its 2011/12 season. The production will be directed by Denis Arndt and will feature Patrick Dizney, Allison Tigard, Michael Mendelson and Trisha Miller.

"God of Carnage" will make its Wisconsin premiere at Peninsula Players Theatre as part of its 2011 season Sept. 7- Oct. 16, 2011. The production is directed by Greg Vinkler and will feature Maggie Carney, Joe Foust, Karen Janes Woditsch and Kevin McKillip. http://www.peninsulaplayers.com/

"God of Carnage" will make its Dayton premiere at The Human Race Theatre Company - opening their 25th Anniversary Season on Sept. 9, 2011. The production is directed by Margarett Perry and features Jennifer Johansen, Rob Johansen, Jennifer Joplin and Tim Lile. http://www.humanracetheatre.org/

"God of Carnage" will make its Champaign-Urbana premiere with The Celebration Company at The Station Theatre to open their 40th Season on October 6, 2011. The production is directed by Celebration Company founder Rick Orr and features Jessa Thomas, David Barkley, Rachel Bradley and Jeremiah Lowry. http://stationtheatre.com/carnage.html

"God of Carnage" had its Asian premiere May 26-29, 2011 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre with Théâtre du Pif. The production was directed by Jovanni Sy and featured Lee Chun-Chow, Jo Chim, Sean Curran, and Kathlyn Carson. http://www.thtdupif.com/

"God of Carnage" will make its Virginia premiere at Virginia Stage Company - opening their 33rd Season on Sept. 16, 2011. VSC's production is directed by VSC Artistic Director Chris Hanna and features Sue Cremin, Ward Duffy, Laurence Lau and Henny Russell. http://www.vastage.com/

"God of Carnage" will make its Southwest premiere at Arizona Theatre Company in Tucson, Arizona October 22-November 12 and in Phoenix, Arizona November 17-December 4, 2012. It will be directed by Rick Lombardo, artistic director of San Jose Repertory Theatre. Scenic design is by Kent Dorsey, costumes by Kish Finnegan, lighting by David Lee Cuthbert, and sound by Brian Jerome Peterson. The cast includes Amy Resnick, Bob Sorenson, Joey Parsons and Benjamin Evett.

"God of Carnage" had its Puerto Rican premiere on November 4, 2011 at the Tapia Theatre
Teatro Tapia
The Teatro Tapia, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is presumed to be the oldest free-standing drama stage building still in use in the United States. It is named after the poet and dramatist Alejandro Tapia y Rivera .-Location:...

 in San Juan starring Cordelia Gonzalez, Braulio Castillo, Jr.
Braulio Castillo, hijo
Braulio Castillo, hijo is a Puerto Rican actor, radio host, and MC. He is the son of Braulio Castillo, a legendary actor across Latin America, and the brother of the lesser known Jorge Castillo, also a television and theater actor....

, René Monclova
Rene Monclova
René Monclova is a Puerto Rican actor. Monclova has been popular both with theater and television audiences. Mainly a comedian, Monclova has also played serious characters, a fact that might escape the minds of many Puerto Ricans, since he has become better known for his role as "Lolo", a...

 and Luisa de los Ríos, and directed by Alina Marrero.

Film adaptation

Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...

 directed the 2011 film adaption of God of Carnage, whose title was shortened to Carnage. The film was shot in Paris, due to Polanski's inability to travel legally to the United States, but the play's Brooklyn setting is retained in the film. Jodie Foster
Jodie Foster
Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster is an American actress, film director, producer as well as a former child actress....

 and John C. Reilly
John C. Reilly
John Christopher Reilly, Jr. is an American film and theater actor, singer, and comedian. Debuting in Casualties of War in 1989, he is one of several actors whose careers were launched by Brian De Palma. To date, he has appeared in more than fifty films, including three separate films in 2002...

 play Veronica and Michael, while Christoph Waltz
Christoph Waltz
Christoph Waltz is an Austrian-German actor. He received international acclaim for his portrayal of SS-Standartenführer Hans Landa in the 2009 film Inglourious Basterds, for which he won the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival and the BAFTA, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award and...

 and Kate Winslet
Kate Winslet
Kate Elizabeth Winslet is an English actress and occasional singer. She has received multiple awards and nominations. She was the youngest person to accrue six Academy Award nominations, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Reader...

play Alan and Annette.

Awards and nominations

2009 Olivier Awards:
  • Best New Play (WINNER)


2009 Tony Awards:
  • Best Play (WINNER)
  • Best Leading Actor in a Play - Jeff Daniels (Nomination)
  • Best Leading Actor in a Play - James Gandolfini (Nomination)
  • Best Leading Actress in a Play - Hope Davis (Nomination)
  • Best Leading Actress in a Play - Marcia Gay Harden (WINNER)
  • Best Direction of a Play - Matthew Warchus (WINNER)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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