The Gods must be crazy

MTC’s God of Carnage is brutally good

John Cassini, Vickie Papavs, Shauna Black and Oliver Becker in a rare moment of levity in God of Carnage. Bruce Monk

What starts out as a comedy of manners between two couples attempting to settle a playground spat ends with the parents behaving just as badly, if not worse, than their children.

After their son Henry becomes injured at the local park by another boy, Benjamin, the Novaks (Oliver Becker and Shauna Black) invite his parents, the Raleighs (John Cassini and Vickie Papavs), over to discuss the matter.

The afternoon begins with niceties, small talk, espresso and clafouti - the peace offerings of the meeting.

“So, clafouti - is it a cake or a tart? Serious question,” asks Michael Novak of the custard-y dessert, early in the engagement.

The sweet becomes a running joke throughout the play to break the tension.

But as it becomes clear that the Raleighs and Novaks employ different means of parenting, and the Novaks are unwilling to accept that their son may have also played a part in the incident, the discussion goes south, touching on matters far removed from the knocking out of teeth on a playground.

The Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre’s production of Yasmina Reza’s 90-minute play is a voyeuristic treat.

Thanks to the set design by Gillian Gallow, the Novaks’ living room is visible to all. The very attractive, modern space is angled downstage so that the audience is able to watch the verbal war almost from above.

My partner commented that it made him dizzy, but it is quite effective in physically representing the chaos, disorder and unbalance into which the civility devolves.

The performances also lend to the voyeurism.

It feels like you’re sitting in on this meeting of two houses. Each of the four performances are solid, and everyone held up their end of the piece.

At first I was a little turned off by Vickie Papavs’s presentation of Annette Raleigh. It seemed inauthentic, but when it is revealed that the Novaks also believe her to be a phony, it was clearly a conscious choice for the character - and once all hell breaks loose, the phoniness is dropped.

It’s hard to say who has some of the best lines, because once the rum comes out, there are no holds barred. However, I think Alan Novak (Cassini) certainly starts it off, with his political incorrectness shining through during his incessant business calls.

The evening begins to spiral out of control following a bodily fluid accident (which is handled surprisingly well, allowing the characters some movement and an opportunity to exit in an otherwise one-room show), and that is when the real fun begins.

I enjoyed this show because it was clear that the actors were enjoying it, too. As an actor it must be fun to behave like a child in the second act, relishing curse words, destroying props and causing general mayhem.

When a show comes to an end after 90 minutes with no intermission and the audience leaves wanting more, you know someone has to be doing something right.

For showtimes and ticket info, call 942-6537 or visit www.mtc.mb.ca. Under 30? A limited number of $19 rush tickets are available beginning at noon on the day of performances (ID required, in person only). For more info, visit www.mtc.mb.ca/rush.

Published in Volume 66, Number 24 of The Uniter (March 21, 2012)

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