God of Carnage

By Yasmina Reza

September 2013

SUMMARY
God of Carnage is one of the most popular and acclaimed plays of the last ten years. First performed in Zurich in 2006, it opened on Broadway in 2009, won a Tony Award for Best Play of the Year, and enjoyed 452 performances, making it the third-longest running play of the early 2000’s.

The play opens with Alan, a corporate lawyer, and Annette, who works in “wealth management” visiting the apartment of Michael, a wholesaler, and Veronica, a writer, to discuss how to deal with an unfortunate incident that occurred in Cobble Hill Park the previous day. Following a “verbal altercation,” Alan and Annette’s son, Freddy, hit Michael and Veronica’s son, Bruno, with a stick, breaking two of his teeth. The parents have gathered to discuss, rationally and amicably, how to deal with the boys.