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January 6, 2008 (from the Gielgud Theatre London official site)

God of Carnage

Tamsin Greig, Janet McTeer and Ken Stott will join Ralph Fiennes in the UK premiere of The God of Carnage, a new comedy by French playwright Yasmina Reza.

Fiennes plays a lawyer and the father of a nine-year-old boy who has hit another child in the school playground. As a result, he and his wife (Greig) are invited to the victim's parent's (Stott and McTeer) home to discuss the matter.

Greig, who won the 2007 Olivier Award for Best Actress for her performance in the RSC's Much Ado About Nothing, has also appeared on stage in A Midsummer Night's Dream and King John. She is, however, probably best known for her TV roles in Green Wing, Black Books and Love Soup.

McTeer's numerous stage credits include The Duchess of Malfi, A Doll's House, the Globe's all-female production of The Taming of the Shrew in which she played Petruchio and, most recently, the title role in Mary Stuart (Donmar Warehouse and West End).

Stott's theatre credits include Cymbeline, The Rose Tattoo, Death of a Salesman, The Misanthrope, the original West End production of Reza's Art and, most recently, Heroes. His screen credits include Rebus, Messiah, Uncle Adolf, The Vice (TV); and Casanova, The Mighty Celt and Shallow Grave (film).

The God of Carnage will reunite the team behind Art - Christopher Hampton (translator), Matthew Warchus (director), and David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers (producers).

Dates:
Previews from 7th March 2008
Booking to 14th June 2008

Cast:
Ralph Fiennes
Tamsin Greig
Janet McTeer
Ken Stott

Creative:
Author Yasmina Reza
Christopher Hampton, Translator
Matthew Warchus, Director
David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers, Producers

Runtime: TBA

Audience: God of Carnage is suitable for children aged 12 and upwards. Children under 5 will not be admitted to the Gielgud Theatre.

December 24, 2007 (from Playbill)

Greig, Stott and McTeer to Join Fiennes in London World Premiere of Reza's Carnage

By John Nathan

Olivier-winning actress Tamsin Greig, Ken Stott and Janet McTeer are reportedly scheduled to join Ralph Fiennes in the world premiere of Yasmina Reza's The God of Carnage.

Reza's play, described as a satire, will open at London's Gielgud Theatre on March 25, 2008, following previews that begin March 7.

Like Reza's Art, The God of Carnage will be directed by Matthew Warchus with a translation by Christopher Hampton. David Pugh and Daffyd Rogers produce.

According to Rogers, God of Carnage is a comedy about parenting skills. The plot centers on two middle-class couples each of whom have a nine-year-old son. Fiennes plays the lawyer father of a boy who attacks the other couple's son. All four parents get together to discuss what happened.

Stott was in the original cast of Reza's Art with Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay. His previous West End performance was with Richard Griffiths and John Hurt in Heroes, by another French writer, Gerald Sibleyras.

In The God of Carnage Stott will play the other father, and McTeer (the title role in Mary Stuart and The Duchess of Malfi) will play his wife. Greig, who won an Olivier Award for her Beatrice in the RSC's production of Much Ado About Nothing, will play Fiennes' wife.

Reza's other credits include Life X 3 and Conversations After a Burial.

October 12, 2007 (from Whatsonstage.com)

Ralph Fiennes Plays God in Reza’s New Comedy

By Terri Paddock

Ahead of his Oedipus at the National next autumn, Ralph Fiennes will return to the West End in the new year to star in the UK premiere of The God of Carnage, the new comedy by French playwright Yasmina Reza which is due to start performances at the Gielgud Theatre on 7 March 2008.

Reza is best known for her multi award-winning three-hander Art which, during its eight-year West End run to January 2003, featured a series of high-profile casts including Albert Finney, Tom Courtenay, Ken Stott, Henry Goodman, David Haig, Richard Griffiths, Frank Skinner, Jack Dee and the League of Gentlemen. Reza’s other plays include Life x 3 and The Unexpected Man, both of which also had West End runs.

The London production of The God of Carnage reunites for the first time the team behind Art - translator Christopher Hampton, director Matthew Warchus and producers David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers (who are also busy preparing the Broadway transfer of Equus with Daniel Radcliffe). Speaking to the Daily Mail, Pugh said: “This is ten years after Art and for me, this is Yasmina at the top of her game again. It’s funnier than Art, although I couldn’t quite get my head around calling it The God of Carnage when it’s a comedy.”

In the new piece, Fiennes plays the lawyer father of a nine-year-old boy who has hit another child on the playground. The victim’s parents have invited Fiennes and his wife round to discuss the matter.

The comedy marks a change for the actor, who, particularly in terms of his stage work, is best known for serious drama and the classics. He was last seen on the London stage in 2004 leading a 100-strong cast in Deborah Warner’s epic staging of Julius Caesar at the Barbican. His other theatre credits include Brand, Coriolanus, Richard II and the so-called Hackney Hamlet, which transferred to Broadway, where he appeared last year in Faith Healer.

Fiennes’ many films include The Constant Gardener, The English Patient, Schindler’s List, The End of the Affair, Harry Potter, Quiz Show, Oscar and Lucinda and Strange Days.

Currently at the Gielgud Theatre, Rupert Goold’s acclaimed production of Macbeth, starring Patrick Stewart and Kate Fleetwood, finishes its limited ten weeks on 1 December 2007, and is followed by another Chichester Festival transfer, Jonathan Church and Philip Franks’ revival of the two-part adaptation of Charles Dickens’ The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, which runs for 66 performances only from 8 December 2007 (previews from 5 December) to 27 January 2008.