“God of Carnage” an oral free for all at TheaterWorks

HARTFORD — Buckle your seat belts, because its going to be a bumpy ride at the performance of the bitingly funny “God of Carnage” at TheaterWorks, directed by Tazewell Thompson.
Two couples of two young boys, one of whom bashed the other with a stick and knocked out some teeth, meet for the first time and try to work things out, by having a discussion about what happened, how it happened, and where to go from there.
During their discussions, they devolve into switching allegiances, with some situations where the two men and the two women bond, and others where their mutual spouses turn against each other, in this very civilized, and not so civilized, comedy of manners.
Or perhaps it should be called a comedy without manners, when manners disappear and people say what is really on their mind about each other.
There are the hosts, the seemingly mismatch couple, with wife Victoria being a writer and humanitarian, played by the vibrant and energetic Candy Buckley who never met a word she wouldn’t enunciate, and her blue collar self-proclaimed Neanderthal of a husband, Michael, played with earthy frankness by Wynn Harmon.
Their son received the blow that dislodged a couple of incisors by the Raleigh’s boy, the investment banker and long suffering wife, Annette, played by Susan Bennett, and her workaholic lawyer husband Alan, played with focus and determination and a constant cell phone to his ear by Royce Johnson.
Johnson seems a little young to play the father of an 11-year-old son, but he is convincing enough, and has some of the funniest lines in the play.
In the middle of the conversation, Annette becomes sick to her stomach, but narcissistic Alan is more interested in speaking on his telephone about a potential lawsuit over a pharmaceutical medication that it turns out Michael’s elderly mother is taking.
They remind me of a saying I heard once, that in order to get along in the world, treat children like adults and adults like children.
“God of Carnage” was originally written in French in 2006 by Yazmina Reza and translated into English by Christopher Hampton where it won a Tony Award for Best Play in 2009 on Broadway.
It’s a bit of a free for all, and the actors are all up to the challenge, talking about whether or not we all still live in a dog eat dog world where it’s survival of the fittest, and little hamsters don’t have a chance.

GOD OF CARNAGE

3½ Stars
Theater: TheaterWorks
Location: 233 Pearl St. Hartford.
Production: Written by Yazmina Riza, with translation by Christopher Hampton. Directed by Tazewell Thompson. Set design by Donald Eastman. Costume design by Harry Nadal. Lighting design by Marcus Doshi. Sound design by Fabian Obispo.
Running time: 75 minutes with one intermission.
Show Times: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. Matinees on Saturdays and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Sunday Dec. 5 and Dec. 19 at 6:30 p.m. The show will run through Dec. 19.
Tickets: Unassigned seating is $40; $50 on Friday and Saturday nights. Center reserved seats $12.50 extra. $15 student rush tickets at showtime with valid ID, subject to availability. For tickets call 860-527-7838 or visit their website at www.theaterworkshartford.org.
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Royce Johnson … Alan Raleigh
Susan Bennett … Annette Raleigh
Wynn Harmon … Michael Novak
Candy Buckley … Victoria Novak