God of Carnage: A Review of the Merrimack Repertory Theatre's Production

      I have to admit, as a person who was involved with musicals in high schools, I haven’t seen that many plays. Perhaps this was due to the limited opportunities in my town to see them, or maybe it was just a lack of interest, which is strange to me because plenty of people that I’ve known rave about plays. Despite this, I think that my experience with musicals has helped me to form certain expectations when it comes to stage productions, and when a play exceeds those expectations, like on Thursday night, I take notice. The Merrimack Repertory Theatre’s production of God of Carnage was an excellent play that used a simple premise and satire to say quite a bit about humans and our base instincts.
      

The GoC playbill

      The plot of the play is actually quite basic and small compared to other plays. After a fight on the playground leaves a young boy injured, the parents of the injured child arrange a meeting with the parents of the other child to determine punishments and smooth over any tensions. Both sets of parents appear cordial and cooperative, but after events ranging from one of the husbands taking too many business calls to one of the wives puking from anxiety, the afternoon takes a sour turn for the worse, with each person becoming more and more like children.

      
      Unlike most plays that I’ve seen, I had actually heard a bit about God of Carnage before seeing it. A couple of my friends were talking about the play when it first came out in 2006, saying that it was one of the best plays they had seen in their lives. I only really started to pay attention, however, when Roman Polanski directed a film version in 2011, starring Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz and John C. Reilly (who was someone that I had not thought of as a dramatic actor). The movie received relatively good reviews, but for some reason, the story stayed in my head for a while. There was something so simple, yet so elegant about the basic premise that made it stand out.

      
      When my friends and I arrived at the Merrimack Repertory Theatre, I was struck by how beautiful it was, both inside and out. It may have just been because it looked very similar to a theater that I used to visit in my hometown, but the theatre felt very comforting and familiar; I might go see more plays there just based on the atmosphere it gives off.

The outside of the Merrimack Repertory Theatre

      
      Of course, the reason we were there was not for the building, but for God of Carnage. The play began with a black stage and tribal chants that grew louder and louder until abruptly stopping, and the lights came up on the four parents discussing the incident. The opening set up the contrast between the cultured appearance of the parents and the baser human instincts that gradually revealed themselves.

The inside of the theatre

      
      It must be said that the performances of the four actors were all stellar. Each of them were capable of believably transitioning from polite with condescending undertones to full-blown savagery within the play’s 80-minute run time. Judith Lightfoot-Clarke (the actress playing Veronica) was particularly excellent as the one who seemed like the most adult and responsible person in the room, yet eventually ended up hitting others like a young girl having a temper tantrum. Laura Latreille (playing Annette) was also excellent, especially towards the end of the play, when she supplies most of the laughs by becoming a bit too tipsy for her own good.
      

      Speaking of laughs, this play was chock full of humor. A few of the jokes in the beginning involving lawyers and house life flew over my head and seemed to be meant for the older members of the audience, but after the aforementioned puking scene, the play was firing on all cylinders; it was easy to tell that the actors were having such a blast on stage. 
      
      If there was anything that I would say was lacking, it would be the ending. The play builds and builds momentum as the couples argue, but it just sort of ends with all of them feeling exhausted and defeated. I would have appreciated more closure to the story (as a side note, I was researching the film version, and apparently, that version ends with the two kids reconciling on their own. While this review is not for the movie, I thought that was a great way of ending the story).

      Overall, I would recommend God of Carnage (and the Merrimack Repertory Theatre’s production in particular, if there is still time to see it) to anyone in a heartbeat. The story was simple yet enticing, the performances of and interplay between the actors was fantastic, and the contrast between our appearances and our more internal desires and feelings was well communicated. Even though I have little experience with plays, I know for a fact that God of Carnage is one of the best plays I’ve ever seen.