God of Carnage

By: Yasmina Reza, Christopher Hampton - translation

Narrated by: Simon Helberg, Amy Landecker, Josh Stamberg, Jocelyn Towne

Winner of the 2009 Tony Award®, God of Carnage is a brash and hilarious exploration of human nature.

After one 11-year-old is hit by another, their parents meet to find a mature resolution. As the evening wears on, the veneer of civility degenerates. What begins as protective parenting ends as an excuse to let loose the primordial beast buried in each of us.

Recorded before a live audience at the UCLA James Bridges Theater in June 2016.

Directed by Martin Jarvis

Producing Director Susan Albert Loewenberg

Simon Helberg as Alan

Amy Landecker as Veronica

Josh Stamberg as Michael

Jocelyn Towne as Annette

Associate Producer: Anna Lyse Erikson

Recording Engineer, Sound Designer, Mixer: Mark Holden for The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood

Sound Effects Artist: Jeff Gardner

Production Manager: Megan McGrory

Editor: Mitchell Lindskoog

©2009 Yasmina Reza (P)2016 L.A. Theatre Works

Critic reviews

“A study in the tension between civilized surface and savage instinct, this play is itself a satisfyingly primitive entertainment with an intellectual veneer.” (Ben Brantley, The New York Times)

Pretty Good.

An intriguing premise for a story that unfolds in real time. There are some great comedic moments, and some moments of deep philosophical thought.
But I was left unsatisfied. Maybe because I wanted there to be more arc to the story and the characters, or perhaps the word "carnage" made me think I was going to see more than just first world problems.
Simon Helberg's performance was wonderfully nuanced, and certainly my favorite part of this production.

Well performed. Entertaining. Made me think.

I was able to relate to each character in a different way, which made me really have to look at the premise from different angles, and ultimately question myself, “What would I do as a parent in that situation?”

LATW DELIVERS- AGAIN

In general, i love all the LATW audio plays. This one is especially entertaining if you've ever been in a situation like the plays- adults trying to resolve kid fights... without becoming children

Uneven play hinders quality production

I'm a big admirer of all the LATW productions I've listened to on Audible. They always manage to bring together an excellent and eclectic cast and their choice of material covers both current and classic plays. This production lives up to the former with Simon Helberg and Amy Landecker both turning in strong performances. However their chosenplayleaves something to be desired. The material itself is a translation, so maybe some of it's power got lost, but the material still seemed light to me. I felt like I was listening to a acting exercise more than a finished piece of work. The premise of the work was intriguing and the script was well crafted but it did not deliver. With the word 'Carnage' in the title I was expecting a more aggressive work, full of conflict and malice. Instead, this play presents more comic moments and a lot of appeasement between the characters. I enjoyed the play but felt unsatisfied at the end. That's a shame because everything else is up to the usual LATW standards. The subtlety of the actors performances is captured, the sound effects are all perfectly timed and the live audience adds to the performance. I just wish that they had something more substantial to compliment their efforts.

Great casting!!!

I am loving all the things that LA Theater Works is putting on Audible!!! This play is brilliant, I've read it and seen it before, and it's always way better than the movie adaptation. The casting for this performance is superb! I have seen them all acting before on TV and it's great to have them on a Yasmina Reza play together.

Not really worthy of the hype

I expected to be the blown away by this play considering that it received a lot of attention when it hit the stage. However, there was not a lot of insight about parenting, children, wealth or even wit for that matter. It was basically an hour of smug affluent parents behaving badly. And a lot of sounds of vomiting.

Enjoyable, while also painful.

This is the first work from the LATW that I’ve heard so I came in with no expectations. I say that only because it seems like many of the negative reviews were left by those who failed to have their expectations met.

Having been through this sort of thing with my daughters I could relate to both sides of this conflict. That allowed me to flow seamlessly between characters, aligning myself with first one, then another. And while the ending did feel a bit abrupt that just mirrored reality where, in my experience, everyone walks away feeling unhappy and vaguely unfulfilled.

Play is very overrated

Where are the geniuses among today's playwrights? There aren't any. What we have instead are wordsmiths who can craft clever dialogue.

If you want clever dialogue, maybe a couple of laughs, and you don't mind profanity and vulgarity, you might like this play. But two minutes after it's over, you will never give it a second thought.