This is where we need to stop and talk about great writing. French writer, Yasmina Reza, knows what those expectations are and immediately sets about subverting them. It's as if she has decided to choose the exact opposite of every beat in the familiar trajectory of this type of story. It's clever, it's intriguing, and is an absolute boon for the actors and director who get to play against type in varying ways. It's also a joy for the audience as they pick up on the sly humour and mischief of it all.
There's a use of language that entices with oddly constructed phrases and formal words that seem out of kilter with the setting and these characters. The unseen children are talked about as if they're adults and the parents slowly devolve into the antics of children as the play progresses. There are bouts of inspired lunacy as things become more frantic. Alliances form, break apart, and reform in surprising ways amongst the four characters.
The writing is deliciously playful and smart in its subversion of expected tropes. The ultimate aim is to explore the fault lines in two marriages and chart their demise with a healthy dose of glee and black comedy. In short, I loved Reza's script.
My curiosity is piqued from the get go. It was all so polite in the opening conversations. Characters were agreeing to certain statements instead of arguing. It felt like a comedy of manners. Things begin to slowly shift until a spectacular comic act makes it clear to any audience members who haven't picked up on the tone what's transpiring. I won't spoil it here but it had me squirming in the best possible way! Indeed, the movement of the play through its crisp 80 minutes with no intermission is best experienced without foreknowledge.
The writing also allows for this - a fixed set and four characters only. No need for transitions to slow things down. Even when characters want to leave, the script finds ways to keep them trapped in this room. Director Thomas Dimmick has clearly given his cast license to play and play they do with the stage manager, James Gant, having quite the clean up job after the show ends. Again, I love this sort of messiness as it comes from the actors being free to embrace the absurdity of it all. There's a fascinating dance happening as the blocking reflects the shift in character dynamics and interactions.
Dimmick's set is well appointed with sumptuous lounge chairs and lounge, a wine rack built into a cabinet, a coffee table that will weather any form of precipitation, and ceremonial African face masks mounted and lit (Clare Talbot) on the rear wall. Costumes by Michelle Sharp reinforce the differing status of every character in relation to each other and how they see themselves.
The actors rise to the material and you can sense their joy at sinking their teeth into such well written fare. Brian O'Donovan plays what at first appears to be the everyman father who sells domestic supplies and has a dislike for rodents. His Irish accent and cheeky laugh make for a genial portrayal of a guy who simply wants everybody to get along... until we scratch beneath the surface. Taneeka Grant is the serious minded writer who goes from being passive-aggressive to openly hostile to unhinged as the aggrieved mother who's horrified at what's happened and her husband's attitude towards it.
Patrick Derrig is the high flying lawyer glued to his bluetooth as calls periodically come in. His matter-of-fact nature and greater concern for a possible class action lawsuit eventually rubs everyone up the wrong way... including, amusingly, some audience members who audibly cringed every time his mobile vibrated with another call. Ruhama Rowe leads the fightback in defending her son while excelling in outbursts of physical comedy that caught me off-guard which made them even more potent. At one point a bottle of rum is added to the equation which only exacerbates the inherent grievances and misgivings each character has towards the others.
I really enjoyed this. Beautifully written, wonderfully acted, and smartly directed. It was a smallish crowd for the Sunday evening show, however, I expect positive word of mouth will drive those numbers up as this is a real gem.
God of Carnage is on at Melville Theatre until 28 September.
Photos by David Cox
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