By Rachel Sweeney
“Intimate” would be an excellent word to describe last weekend’s God of Carnage, produced by Renegade Theater. The fully-lit, homey main room of Weaver Cottage created an inclusive an distinct environment which encouraged the audience to laugh ﾗ an ideal setting for playwright Yasmina Reza’s black comedy of clashing couples.
The two showings of Carnage marked the beginning of a new season for Renegade Theater, an entirely first-year campus theatre company. Passed down each year to a new set of first years, Renegade provides an excellent opportunity for students new to the Hill to get involved in theater at Kenyon.
This production, directed by Henry Quillian ’17 and stage managed by Marc Ferraro ’17, was no exception. Friday night’s performance was carried by a small ensemble of enthusiastic performers and benefitted from a receptive audience.
Originally written in French in 2006, God of Carnage has been translated and produced around the world by small and large companies alike. This production took its script from the play’s 2009 Broadway run, which won three Tony awards. The small-cast dramedy was a smart choice for a Renegade production ﾗ simple in terms of overall production but smart and rich in story.
The play tells the story of a meeting between two couples to discuss a fight between their children that eventually devolves into drunken chaos. The four cast members, Henry Nash ’17, Alice Stites ’17, Andrew Perricone ’17 and Zoe Andris ’17, were well suited for their roles as two very different, but equally neurotic, couples.
Attendees expecting a Kenyon College Dance and Dramatic Club-caliber production may have left disappointed, but Renegade does not necessarily exist to produce professional-level shows.
Many first-year students often find it difficult to get involved in theater at Kenyon, and Renegade provides an accessible gateway for them that might not exist otherwise. More power to them ﾗ especially if they keep producing shows like God of Carnage.
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