About the work
Der Gott des Gemetzels (original title Le Dieu du carnage; God of Carnage) is a comedy by the French author Yasmina Reza, premiered in 2006 in Zurich. The play about two sets of parents whose civilised façade crumbles in argument became a worldwide success and was filmed by Roman Polanski in 2011 under the title "Carnage".
Plot
Two sets of Parisian parents meet in an apartment to settle an incident in a civilised manner: one couple's eleven-year-old son has knocked out two of the other couple's son's teeth with a stick. What begins as a polite, emphatically reasonable conversation tips over the course of the evening into open hostility. Pleasantries, espresso and clafoutis give way to insults, shifting alliances and tears; alcohol, a ruined mobile phone and a stomach emptied over the art books accelerate the collapse. In the end four adults face one another who prove just as crude and selfish as the quarrelling children — the "god of carnage" has triumphed over civilisation.
Cultural significance
Der Gott des Gemetzels is among the most-performed plays of the early 21st century and has been translated into numerous languages and staged with star casts on Broadway and in London's West End. Reza's precise dismantling of the educated bourgeoisie, which barely conceals its aggressive nature behind good manners, struck a nerve. Polanski's film with Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz and John C. Reilly made the material known to an audience of millions.