Yasmina Reza’s GOD OF CARNAGE is a biting, incisive play about two sets of parents who meet to discuss a playground fight between their young sons. What begins as an attempt at civilized conflict resolution quickly devolves into an evening of petty squabbling, emotional regression, and the collapse of social decorum. Reza’s symbolism is sharp, and the descent into chaos is unsettling. It is also fun to watch.
Spotlight Theatre in Lansdowne offers a mostly effective and comedy-forward staging of the 2008 play (originally written in French and translated here by Christopher Hampton), which won the 2009 Tony Award for Best Play. Under Lorraine Barrett’s direction, the cast of four features Jennifer Trimble as Veronica, Anthony Marsala as Michael, Daria Husseinzadeh as Annette, and Paolo Barolat-Romana as Alan.
Trimble’s Veronica is suitably tense and controlling, exuding passive aggression at every turn. Marsala’s Michael lands convincingly as a laid-back working man whose veneer of civility cracks to reveal his inner brute. Husseinzadeh’s Annette quietly projects a deep sadness while skillfully charting her character’s alcohol-infused unraveling. Barolat-Romana’s Alan is unapologetically arrogant in defending his moral depravity.
Barrett keeps the pacing brisk as the couples advocate first for their children and then for their own versions of dignity. Along the way, allegiances shift—husbands turn on wives, women join forces against men—and the discussion deteriorates into a frenetic dismantling of polite discourse, exposing raw marital resentments and secrets.
The play poses unique challenges for directors and actors alike. It can tempt performers toward broad comedy, even slapstick, which risks diluting the psychological realism. That trap is occasionally sprung here: Trimble and Marsala at times push the humor too forcefully, resorting to volume and bluster over nuance. One wishes Barrett had guided the ensemble toward a slower burn, allowing tension to build organically.
Reza’s ending is deceptively simple yet powerful. In the final moments, one of the mothers speaks tenderly on the phone to her daughter about a lost pet—a brief but devastating reminder of innocence and empathy amid the adults’ cruelty. Ideally, the moment lands with quiet heartbreak and subtle irony. In this production, however, it felt underplayed, resulting in a muted and abrupt conclusion. The preceding seventy-five minutes of sitcom-style broadness left little space for the emotional redemption and social poignancy one imagines the playwright intended.
GOD OF CARNAGE
SPOTLIGHT THEATRE
Twentieth Century Club
84 South Lansdowne Ave.
Lansdowne, PA 19050
484-326-5172
info@spotlighttheatrepa.org
https://spotlighttheatrepa.org/
Review submitted by:
Franklin Joseph
Author’s Bio:
Franklin Joseph is an avid theatre goer. Recently relocated from Chicago, he is delighted to be in southeast Pennsylvania among such an active theatre and arts community.
