The god of slaughter
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| Title: | The god of slaughter |
| Original title: | Le Dieu du Carnage |
| Genus: | Chamber play |
| Original language: | French |
| Author: | Yasmina Reza |
| Premiere: | December 2, 2006 |
| Place of premiere: | Schauspielhaus Zurich |
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The god of carnage ( French original title: Le Dieu du carnage ) is a play by Yasmina Reza in the German translation by Frank Heibert and Hinrich Schmidt-Henkel .
According to the theater publisher Desch, which grants the performance rights for the German-speaking area, the play was staged on around 60 German-speaking theaters in the 2006/07 and 2007/08 seasons, making it one of the most successful plays of recent decades after just two years.
action
The couple Véronique and Michel Houillé welcomed the couple Annette and Alain Reille to their Paris apartment. Eleven-year-old Ferdinand Reille beat Bruno Houillé, who was the same age, with a stick in school and knocked out two of his incisors. The parents of the two have come together to discuss what has happened. Véronique is a socially critical writer working on a book about the Darfur conflict . Her husband Michel runs a hardware wholesaler. Annette Reille is a financial advisor and her husband Alain is a successful in-house counsel who works for a pharmaceutical company . The conversation starts harmlessly. Annette and Alain pretend to be guilty and Véronique and Michel indicate that they want a peaceful settlement, if not willing to forgive. But slowly the conflict takes on a different tone. The discussion is constantly interrupted by Alain as he receives work calls on his cell phone and is loudly trying to get a pharmaceutical scandal in his company under control. In addition, the Houillés' phone rings more often because Michel's mother keeps calling. It turns out that Michel's mother is taking the drug, the serious side effects of which Alain tries to cover up on his cell phone.
Little by little, the weak points of the individual résumés come to the surface. The atmosphere becomes increasingly aggressive and with it the judgment of the act of eleven-year-old Ferdinand and the judgment of Bruno's role as a victim. Véronique and Michel can no longer uphold the condemnation of all violence when it turns out that Michel secretly disposed of his daughter's hamster and killed it with it. The Reille couple used this circumstance to avert the guilt of their son. They portray Michel's actions as irresponsible and shameful. Michel is considered the sissy and suddenly wants to appear tougher next to the unscrupulous lawyer than he actually is. Annette suffers from her ignorant husband. As a good host, Michel serves his wife's clafoutis with excellent rum. The alcohol ultimately causes the escalation. Annette vomits on a valuable old illustrated book from an exhibition by Oskar Kokoschka and drowns her husband's cell phone in a vase of tulips. The relationship between the sons should be restored, but then the two couples drop their elegant masks of prosperity and indulge in an argument, with the coalitions changing between the couples. Only Alain ultimately feels confirmed in his worldview. He always believed in the god of slaughter .
premiere
The play for four people premiered on December 2, 2006 at the Schauspielhaus Zürich with the cast of Dörte Lyssewski as Véronique Houillé, Tilo Nest as Michel Houillé, Corinna Kirchhoff as Annette Reille and Michael Maertens as Alain Reille; Directed by Jürgen Gosch . This world premiere was awarded the Nestroy Theater Prize for the best German-language performance of the year in 2007 and invited to the 2007 Berlin Theatertreffen .
International premieres
The French premiere was in January 2008 at the Théâtre Antoine in Paris. Directed by Yasmina Reza, Isabelle Huppert , André Marcon, Valerie Bonneton and Éric Elmosnino played.
The English version - God of Carnage translated by Christopher Hampton - premiered in March 2008 at the Gielgud Theater in London. Directed by Matthew Warchus starred Ralph Fiennes , Tamsin Greig, Janet McTeer and Ken Stott .
On Broadway had God of Carnage in February 2009 in the cast Jeff Daniels , Hope Davis , James Gandolfini and Marcia Gay Harden its US premiere. It was also directed by Matthew Warchus . The production won three prizes at the 2009 Tony Award , including the Play of the Year category.
filming
The play was filmed by Roman Polański in Paris in spring 2011. In the cast Christoph Waltz and Kate Winslet in the roles of Alan and Nancy (Alain and Annette), Jodie Foster and John C. Reilly in the roles of Penelope and Michael (Véronique and Michel). The film was presented at the 2011 Venice International Film Festival in early September . Although the film is set in New York, it was shot in Paris, as Polański risks arrest if he enters the United States under a still-pending arrest warrant .
Book edition
Yasmina Reza: The God of Carnage. Play. From the French by Frank Heibert and Hinrich Schmidt-Henkel; with photos from the Zurich premiere, Libelle-Verlag, Lengwil 2007, ISBN 978-3-905707-15-1 .