Let’s Try Again (God of Carnage)

Let’s try again? One more time, perhaps? Who hasn’t found themselves in situations like these? We keep trying and hoping that at last we’ll succeed. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it only gets us in deeper, as happens to the heroes of this comedy, which has become a worldwide hit. The play “Let’s Try Again” is based on the play “God of Carnage” by renowned French author Yasmina Reza. This subtle black comedy has won the author numerous prestigious awards, and the play continues to be staged around the world.

The comedy depicts an everyday situation that many of us will readily recognise. One afternoon, two well-mannered couples meet to discuss a fight between their children, during which one boy had a tooth knocked out. The children’s parents—the Houillé and Reille families—try to resolve the conflict in a supposedly civilised manner and find a way to make peace that everyone can accept. At first, their conversation is polite and courteous, but gradually its tone grows sharper. With each attempt to understand one another, tensions between the families and within the couples themselves rise. Halfway through the meeting, coffee gives way to rum, and the hatred, dissatisfaction and even aggression concealed beneath the couples’ polished, respectable façades come to light. The couples begin hurling not only accusations, irrational arguments, and sexist and homophobic insults, but also whatever objects happen to be at hand. What was meant to be a meeting of civilised adults ends in childish, uncontrollable chaos.

Although at first glance the comedy’s subject may seem fairly simple, everyday and even rather banal, it in fact conceals many themes and deeper layers of meaning. The comedy’s greatest achievement is its humour: not blunt, but intelligent and incisive, with a light touch of irony, delivered on stage with charm and precision by a talented quartet of actors. Critics agree that Y. Reza’s subtle, incomparable humour appeals even to the most discerning audiences. So it is no surprise that this audience favourite is returning to our theatre’s stage with a refreshed cast and the somewhat self-ironic title “Let’s Try Again.”

Premiere: 14–15 April 2012. Revived: 2022. Funded by: