Der Gott des Gemetzels

"These tulips are gorgeous!" One of those polite phrases that would have been better never said. Because it sets off a meeting that soon becomes unstoppable. A meeting between a pharmaceutical lawyer and a financial advisor, an author with a focus on Africa and a plumbing dealer. When do two such opposite couples meet? Rarely. Do they have anything in common? No. Unless both couples have children who go to the same school. Then it can actually happen that two such couples have to spend an afternoon together.

Yasmina Reza's "The God of Carnage" tells of this exceptional case of civilization. And rarely before has anyone observed such an encounter so sensationally precisely - and so sensationally funny. It is well known that the veneer of civilization is thin - but the way Yasmina Reza lets this veneer peel away layer by layer, practically in all our neighborhoods, is extremely entertaining.

Because the sons had a fight and one of them had knocked out two of the other's teeth, the parents met to come to an amicable agreement in the spirit of non-violent discourse over espresso and homemade cakes. But what began as a show of tolerant city couples turns into a room fight in which the parents easily outshine their sons: the verbal battles may not knock out any teeth, but they still effectively clean up the lives of the other person. Things get heated not only between the couples, but also in alternating one-on-one hand-to-hand combat, over several rounds.
And so, over the ravishing tulips, not only the principles of the much-vaunted Western code of conduct are being shattered in great detail…

Now a modern classic, Yasmina Reza’s successful comedy is returning to the schedule.