SU Theatre Presents 'God of Carnage' Nov. 14-24

SALISBURY, MD---A playground fight between children turns into a living room brawl among adults in Yasmina Riza’s comedy God of Carnage, presented by Salisbury University’s Bobbi Biron Theatre Program Thursday-Sunday, November 14-17 and 21-24.

Curtain is 8 p.m., 2 p.m. Sundays.

Directed by Robert Smith of SU’s Theatre and Dance Department, the production follows conversations between two sets of parents, meeting to discuss a schoolyard dispute between their children. As the evening wears on, their true colors become apparent.

The acclaimed work has won multiple Tony awards, including Best Play, and the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy. The New York Times raved the play “incite[d] the kind of laughter that comes from the gut, as involuntary as hiccups.” The New Yorker called it “90 minutes of sustained mayhem.”

This is the second Riza script Smith has directed. SU Theatre presented her comedy Art in 2003.

“Riza writes sophisticated plays built around situations — encounters that peel back the veneer of social politeness,” he said. “She examines the construction of friendship, parenting and marriage — the spoken and unspoken rules that circumscribe relationships.

“She also has a wonderful sense of humor, a sense of the absurd. Her work reminds me of the great Restoration comedy writers, Noel Coward and Edward Albee, who produced plays marked by wit, social critique, striking satire and a little menace.”

God of Carnage is suggested for mature audiences. Admission is $15, $12 seniors, students and SU alumni with ID. Tickets are available online at www.salisbury.edu/theatreanddance. Tickets also may be purchased through the SU Box Office, Fulton Hall Room 100. SU ID holders receive one ticket free for Thursday performances with advance reservations.

For more information call 410-543-6228 or visit the SU website at www.salisbury.edu.