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God of Carnage
Presented by:
Melbourne Theatre Company
Date
Reviewed:
3 September, 2009
Venue:
Playhouse, The Arts Centre
Reviewer:
Adam Rafferty
Photos: Jeff
Busby
Equally celebrated and reviled French playwright, Yasmina Reza has
made a career from skewering the neurotic behaviours of the
middle-classes of her homeland in her successful plays Art
and Life x 3. God of Carnage similarly observes the
truth behind the veneer of social mores that its predecessors so
acutely scrutinised, but this time does so with particularly garish
physical comedy.
After
two 11-year-old boys come to blows in the neighbourhood park and one
knocks two of the other’s teeth out with a stick, the parents of the
two lads come together to discuss the matter. House-proud Veronique
and Michel Vallon (Pamela Rabe and Geoff Morrell) relish the
opportunity to demonstrate their civility and hospitality. However,
it seems a polite resolution with young Ferdinand Reille’s parents –
the mobile phone bound Alain and his kept wife Annette (Hugo Weaving
and Natasha Herbert) - may prove more elusive than first expected.
 Reza’s
plays are savoured by theatre companies internationally for a couple
of reasons – they contain a very small number of characters in a
simple, contained setting; and their English translations (thanks
usually, and in this case, to Christopher Hampton) provide the kind
of gloriously chewy dialogue that actors adore performing. This
makes MTC’s production simultaneously surprising and not. Surprising
because the vast Playhouse stage, that easily fit a full-size
three-storey house for August: Osage County, has been chosen
for a play with such a small, enclosed setting. However,
unsurprising on the basis of the box office draw that actors of this
extraordinary calibre provide, and who obviously snapped up the
opportunity to let loose with this outrageous script.
Most
extraordinary, if I can be as uncouth as to rate the performers
against one another, is Rabe. The smiling façade on her portrayal of
Veronique gorgeously hides the bubbling undercurrent of distaste she
has for her facile houseguests - at least for a while. Rabe has a
brilliant sense of control in her comedic performance and is no more
entertaining than when she attempts to elicit interest from Annette
in the book she has authored about Darfur. So many of her nuanced
expressions display multi-faceted emotions, which makes it endlessly
fascinating to watch this master at work. But really the entire cast
is excellent in this production.
Morrell’s understated and calm rendering of Michel is almost
Kipling-esque in the way he keeps his head while all about him are
losing theirs and blaming it on him. As the characters shift
allegiances around the quartet, Michel’s stance is quintessentially
male and in Morrell’s performance, absolutely Parisian. He achieves
a wonderful balance in his interpretation.
Weaving proves why he is always in demand with this intricate
interpretation of the morally repugnant lawyer, Alain. His mobile
phone conversations with his client are an entertainment in
themselves, but it’s the casual ease in which he negotiates the
physical antics of the ensuing arguments between the parents, that
shows just how much control he has over his performance.
 Finally,
Herbert wears arguably the most physically demanding role of the
show – which without wanting to give away any surprises, involves
not only some excellent slight of hand, but also astonishingly
complementary physical manipulation. She throws herself completely
into the situation to ensure that Annette’s spasmodic meltdown is
almost entirely convincing.
Peter
Evans’ direction keeps the action moving around the small location
with great energy and makes the most of the expansive stage. From a
direction standpoint, this play is often more about managing the
myriad physical elements occurring throughout, than the minutiae of
the dialogue, but Evans has ensured the wonderful language in
Hampton’s translation is taken advantage of wherever possible.
Thanks also go to Felicity Steel for her seamless fight
choreography.
The
two couples wonderfully embody Gallic style, appropriate to their
positions, thanks to Dale Ferguson’s keenly observed costume
designs. His set design, with its conceptual backdrop, is perhaps a
little too literal, but it does do an admirable job of making the
huge stage work for this intimate piece.
Coming in at the ‘perfect’ viewing length – 90 minutes without
interval – God of Carnage is cracking good fun for those with
strong stomachs and an appreciation of seeing people hoisted by
their own petards.
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