AFTER an absence of several years, the historic Claremont Dramatic Society (CDS – founded in 1952 as Sons of England) returns to the Masque Theatre in Muizenberg this October with Yasmina Reza’s savagely funny God of Carnage. It is the society’s first production since the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown that closed South Africa’s stages, and it marks a long-awaited homecoming to the theatre where CDS has built its reputation.
“Being back at the Masque, for me, is about breathing life back into CDS,” says director and CDS chair Bernie Jacobs. “In order to do that, I wanted a good, meaty play with layers, depth, complexity and texture, but I don’t think in our current climate anyone is in the mood for anything heavy. God of Carnage strikes the perfect balance: serious intent softened with comedy, giving people a really meaningful but thoroughly enjoyable night at the theatre.”
Translated from the French by Christopher Hampton, God of Carnage begins with two sets of parents meeting to settle a playground scuffle between their sons. Coffee is served. Reasonable people speak reasonably. Within 90 minutes, reason has come apart at the seams and coffee is the last thing anyone is thinking about.
The play is one of the most decorated comedies of the century so far. It won the Olivier Award for Best New Comedy following its 2008 West End premiere (featuring Ralph Fiennes, Tamsin Greig, Janet McTeer and Ken Stott). Transferring to Broadway the following year with James Gandolfini, Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis and Marcia Gay Harden, it won three Tony Awards, including Best Play. Roman Polanski’s 2011 film adaptation, Carnage, starred Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz and John C Reilly.
That pedigree, and Reza’s razor-sharp writing, has made the play a favourite with audiences and a notorious challenge for actors: four people, one living room, no interval, and nowhere to hide.
Direction by Jacobs, whose previous directorial credits for CDS include Equus and Playing with Fire, shows her choices and clear appetite for quality material that puts pressure on its performers and refuses to let an audience settle.
The four actors in the piece are Jaime Uranovsky, Landon McClure, Dave Waugh and Juliet Yates. None has been seen on a community stage for some time, and their collaboration is likely to be the talking point of the season for anyone who has followed Cape Town’s amateur theatre scene over the past decade. Between them they bring the kind of experience the play demands, and the kind of familiarity that will have regular Masque audiences checking the cast list twice
PHOTO CREDIT: Lara Basson
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