Essays

God of Carnage

When I first heard that God of Carnage would be playing at our college, I was ecstatic. Of course, that was just because I thought it was going to be about Ares, the literal god of carnage, not a play about to sets of parents arguing. I admit, I was disappointed to find that it was not about Ares, but I still found that I enjoyed the play immensely.

God of Carnage is a comedy that consists of two sets of parents who are fighting the majority of the play. They sometimes fight with their spouse, or at times they will fight with the other couple. The argument started about being about which one of their kids were wrong and why. Their sons, eleven year old boys, got into a fight that, in the end, resulted in the parents acting just as bad, if not worse, than their children. Their fight, however, went far past the fight between their sons.

Michael and Veronica Novak, the parents of Bruno, are upset with Alan and Anette Raleigh, parents of Ferdinand, because he struck Bruno in the face with a stick and popping his lip. They felt that Ferdinand's parents had not raised him correctly. The Raleighs said that Bruno had been angry because Ferdinand called him a name and wouldn't befriend him.

The fight went on to other things, making it slightly hard to keep up with what was going on. The parents would be arguing about clafoutis one moment and euthanising hamsters the next! While this made the play more difficult to follow, it also ensured that there was never a dull moment. Well, that and a rather large mixture of vomiting, crying, yelling, throwing, and eye rolling that went on during the entire show. 

As part of the enjoyment, we didn't just watch the two couples having a row, we watched as they they quite randomly sided with different people all throughout the play. You would see the guys against the girls, each man for himself, and the couples mixing up for the fights, siding with whoever seemed to make a good point at the moment.

The actors were very convincing for the most part, with great facial expressions, timing, and holding themselves as their character would. Despite that, and the fact that their vocals were on point, something about the actors just made the story a little off. Trying to pinpoint what was strange, I came to the conclusion that it was the over exaggerated arm motions. I understand that in plays you shouldn't leave your arms to do nothing for too long, however it still strikes me as odd to see that much movement in someone's arms whilst they are talking, whatever the subject mat be.

The play itself was phenomenal as a whole. There was never a dull moment and there was constant sharp turns in the conversation to keep you at the edge of your seat, wondering what would happen next. I loved the way the play  shows that family issues never end, with the parents fighting with their children, and Michael fighting with his mom over the phone, proving that you are never to old to have a fit to your mother.

This playful comedy was something I truly enjoyed, and I would definitely recommend it to my friends to see. The well written words and fabulous acting captured my attention and pulled me into the story.

- 22 April, 2015