Nina Jenkins | Apr 11, 2013


The North Frontenac Little Theatre play God of Carnage, by Yasmina Reza, will be performed at Sharbot Lake High School Auditorium on Thurs., May 2; Fri., May 3; Sat., May 4 at 7:30 p.m. and at a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, May 5.

The play is centred around two boys, Henry and Benjamin, one of whom, while playing in the park, accidentally hit the other boy in the mouth, breaking a tooth. Henry's parents have invited Benjamin's parents to their home for the evening to discuss the situation hoping to prevent this kind of thing from happening again.

Alan Raliegh, Benjamin's father, is a lawyer who works for a drug company and is always on his cell phone. He would much rather be working on his case than be at this meeting. Alan is played by Rob Bell who appears for the first time on stage with NFLT and he's really enjoying the experience.

Alan's wife, Annette, tries very hard to be friendly with the Novaks and to discuss the problem civilly. Martina Field, a veteran actor with NFLT, plays Annette. She has acted in a number of plays including The Wizard of Oz (as the Wicked Witch of the West), Annie, Oliver and Midsummer's Night Dream. She also helped with sets for Midsummer's Night Dream.

Michael Novak, Henry's father, has been quite successful in the plumbing wholesale business. While he is interested in discussing and resolving the issue, he would like to do so in a straight forward matter-of-fact way. John Stephen, a long time member of the theatre group, plays the role of Michael. John appeared in last fall's show, Tom Sawyer, as Old Joe and previously in Maple Lodge and Opening Night, among others.

Veronica Novak, played by Karen Steele, is an author whose idea it was to meet with Benjamin's parents to try to iron out the situation with their sons. She attempts to keep the others on track by bringing the discussion back to the facts as she sees them. Karen has acted in a number of plays over the years, including Maple Lodge, Beyond Reasonable Doubt, Noises Off and Opening Night. She has also directed a couple of plays. All four actors are having a lot of fun with their roles this time.

The play is directed by Kelli Bell, who recently directed Sara's Getting Married but this is her first time directing her husband, Rob (on stage, that is). Kelli has also performed in some plays, including Maple Lodge, Beyond Reasonable Doubt, The Wizard of Oz and Opening Night.

While the evening begins with the two couples conversing logically and amiably about the situation, before long irrational arguments begin and angry words are thrown back and forth. As the evening wears on things get more intense and one begins to wonder if things would have turned out better if the boys had been left to work out the situation on their own. Do they end up with an agreeable solution? To find out how this ends you will have to see the show. See you there.

Caution: The play contains coarse language and is not recommended for children.

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