God of Carnage

Two eleven-year-old boys have fought on the school playground: one struck with a stick, the other nearly lost two front teeth. The parents meet over coffee and cake to discuss, as civilized people, how to handle the situation from a pedagogical standpoint. But when the two contrasting couples meet, soon more primitive impulses take over and provocative questions fly through the room. Which boy was really at fault? Doesn't a child's brutal behavior suggest marital problems between the parents? What is worse: soiled art books, abandoning the family hamster at night, or loud phone calls to defend a health-threatening medication? Barbs turn into verbal skirmishes, scuffles escalate into a living-room battle. The art of civilized interaction culminates in a wild outburst. In the end, not even the two marriages remain intact, and only one emerges victorious: the god of carnage.

With exceptional precision of observation and brilliant dialogue, French playwright Yasmina Reza reveals in this comedy just how thin the veneer of civilization truly is.