God of Carnage

One of the recent delights at the Bench Theatre was appearing in "Art", which subsequently won the Best Production of the Year Award sponsored by the Portsmouth News. I loved the play and the production with old chums, Pete Woodward and Tim Taylor, directed by beautiful young Robin Hall.
I needed no persuasion, therefore, to see a matinee of "God of Carnage" at the Gielgud Theatre. It has a limited run of 10 weeks only because the stellar cast includes Ralph Fiennes ( a man with a backlog of filmwork to get back to), with Tamsin Greig, Janet McTeer and Ken Stott. Ken Stott was part of the original cast of Art by Yasmina Reza. God of Carnage is also translated by Christopher Hampton who did Art. The director is Matthew Warchus who also directed Art (and also directed Speed the Plow, reviewed below).
The play is set in the Parisian apartment of Veronique (McTeer) and Michel (Stott). It is a wonderfully red interior with minimal but classy furniture. They are being visited by Alain (Fiennes) and Annette (Greig). The visit is occasioned because the two eleven year old sons of the two couples have been involved in a fight in a local park. The visitors' son has hit the other boy in the face with a stick. The two sets of parents are trying to work out a way an apology can be made.
It isn't long before the carefully constructed facades of the quartet start to crack and split asunder under the strain of being together. Ralph Fiennes' wonderful laconic lawyer, permanently attached to his mobile phone trying to dampen down a prescription drug drama, has a great line in black comedy and produces some real belly laughs from the audience. Tamsin Greig does a wonderful turn when chundering all over Veronique's precious books. Michel the self made entrepreneur of domestic goods (Stott) begins seemingly supporting his wife's attempts at a civilised solution but capitulates when the going gets tough. Before the end we see the paper thin veneer of civilisation disappear from the quartet and the Parisian apartment.
At the end silence reigns as the four retire to their separate corners, no longer able to communicate between the two couples, or indeed with their partners in the couples. Reza is telling us that the dividing line between civilisation and brutality remains so very thin.
The playing is consistently good and the teamwork extraordinary. The production is sure footed and swift - the 90 minutes playing time is delivered with pace, attack and brio - a hallmark of Warchus' direction (especially after having seen "Speed-the-Plow"). I was riveted throughout and really enjoyed the performance. I am not totally sure I was convinced by Reza's thesis at the end but it was certainly delivered in a stylish and thought provoking manner.
A production I would heartily recommend for all parents and teachers!

(I think I owe Matthew Warchus an apology as I think I kept calling him Marcus in a previous posting)