Peninsula Players Presents God of Carnage

(Left to right) Maggie Carney, Joe Foust, Karen Janes Woditsch and Kevin McKillip perform in “God of Carnage.”

Yasmina Reza’s award-winning comedy, God of Carnage is now on stage at Peninsula Players through October 16.

Two sets of savvy parents meet to discuss the behavior of their boys on the playground. The evening starts with a civil tone, but cocktails are served, tensions build to a snapping point and the parents become increasingly childish.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Reza said she was inspired by a real incident. She was talking to the mother of her son’s classmate who sustained a broken tooth on the playground. “She said to me this: ‘Do you realize the parents haven’t even called to apologize!’ I immediately thought that there was an interesting theme here,” Reza said.

Upon graduating from high school, Reza attended the University of Paris X and the Jacques Lecoq Drama School. In 1987, she wrote Conversations after a Burial, which won the Molière Award for Best Author, SACD New Talent Award, the Johnson Foundation Award and was subsequently performed across Europe and in South America.

God of Carnage opened in London in March 2008, with translation by Christopher Hampton starring Ralph Fiennes, Tamsin Greig, Janet McTeer and Ken Stott. The London production won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy.

The Peninsula Players perform Tuesdays – Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 7 pm, except Sept. 11, Oct. 9 and 16 which will have 4 pm performances. Discount tickets are available for groups of 15 or more. Individual ticket prices range from $32 to $38. For more information visit http://www.peninsulaplayers.com.