De Gott vun’t Gemetzel / Der Gott des Gemetzels

A comedy by Yasmina Reza

Low German adaptation by Christian Becker
Low German premiere

The married couple Berendine and Hinnerk Leefsen invite Anke and Erik Reinhard to their home. The reason: Their sons got into a fight in the schoolyard; one struck the other with a stick, and the other lost two front teeth. Now the adults want to resolve the conflict differently than their children did—with a civilized conversation over coffee and pastries, as needs-oriented and consensus-seeking as possible.
What they attempt to build with great effort and awkward small talk soon collapses like a house of cards. Which of the two children was really at fault? And doesn’t violence in the schoolyard automatically suggest marital problems among the parents? But it doesn’t exactly help resolve the issues that Erik, who as a lawyer represents a dubious pharmaceutical company, keeps answering the constantly ringing phone at regular intervals. Or that Berendine considers her art books more important than the well-being of Anke, who just moments ago threw up all over the living room table…
In her masterful play, Yasmina Reza doesn’t shy away from exploiting every potential for escalation and settling scores with our own narrow-minded bourgeoisie through razor-sharp humor. Ever since the star-studded 2011 film adaptation, this comedy has become an indispensable part of the theater scene, and in the Low German version, it unfolds with a very special intimacy and humor.