Comic play experiences power cut on opening night

The comic play God of Carnage suffered a power cut on its West End debut last night.

The new theatre production had been going for an hour when the stage lighting went off. Undeterred, the cast (Ralph Fiennes, Tamsin Greig, Ken Scott and Janet McTeer) went on and performed in darkness for several minutes. Eventually, they had to stop, but returned with the theatre's house lights, and the working lights on the stage being used as a substitute. Despite the technical problems, the play was well received both the audience and by most critics.

God of Carnage, created in 2006, is a comedy in which an 11-year-old child is injured on the school playground by another child during a game. The parents of the children meet to discuss the matter, but as they go on they become childish themselves, resulting in the whole evening degenerating into chaos. The play is currently being performed at the Gielgud.