Director's Notes

Explore our Interview with Director Patricia Darbasie.

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We are thrilled to be coming back to the theatre after the pandemic has locked us out ! And as we return, we also struggle to find ways to create a new “normal”.  Do we want to examine what things in our lives really work after a 20 month hiatus? Or do we go back to  doing, for whatever reason, things that no longer really serve us? It is an interesting time in our history as we examine ourselves and have the opportunity to possibly reboot. 

In many ways self-examination is at the heart of God of Carnage. Two couples are raising 11 year old boys; they live in similar neighbourhoods, they live busy work lives that allow them to have the comforts they enjoy and are of a similar class, age and educational background, surely they will have similar values.

But as many of us discovered during our lockdowns we have different opinions than our neighbours and we live slightly different lives in the many places we inhabit- at work, leisure and with family. These differences - these points of diversity within ourselves, were highlighted when we could not go to those places and were trapped in our homes. And the characters, like us, are surprised by what they discover about themselves when they are being pressured  to conform to others expectations; they look at each other with surprise and at times horror. Who are you? And how can you say the things I’m hearing?  Are you a different person at work than you are at home with your partner and children? And are your children different at school and at play than they are at home?  

Yasmina Reza says of the play “a living room- no realism - nothing superfluous”. That in itself seems a contradiction; living rooms seem pretty realistic and most people think the things in their living rooms are essential.  We took inspiration from the work of the artist Francis Bacon - he's mentioned in the play and his work is layered, twisted and distorted when looked at closely and somewhat normal looking when viewed from far away. We have played with this idea of the “Bacon Twist” in all elements of our work and hopefully have found a way to bridge the contradictions and complexities of the play. 

During this time of upheaval it seems like God of Carnage is the perfect play to welcome audiences back into the theatre. It gets us thinking about how we live our lives and what our values are. Art is a reflection of our experiences and this play captures that upheaval that the pandemic has brought us - that carnage. Enjoy!

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--Patricia Darbasie