The scene is set for this new adaptation of Edmond Rostand’s lyrical and lairy classic, Cyrano de Bergerac, now in the West End after a run at the RSC’s home in Stratford-upon-Avon.
We are in a theatre in the theatre as the play opens. Ragueneau (Christian Patterson), the narrator and cafe proprietor, gets us on our feet and in the spirit for the ‘show’. Actors pop up on different levels of the auditorium – one struggling to find his way on to the stage.
The famed introduction to Cyrano himself as he duels in words with one who ‘nose’ how to rile him is given a modern acrostic spin by co-adapter and grime poet Debris Stevenson. Adrian Lester – in a fabulous performance that springs into life from his first step – captures the heart of this complex character.
A mix of action and romance which has inspired comic (Roxanne) and musical (Cyrano) takes in the past, Rostand’s original play dates from 1897, and has enjoyed many stage and screen adaptations since then.
Director and co-adapter Simon Evans has opted to stage a lot of this production within the front stalls – not just for entrances and exits, but also for characters to hide, observe and wander.
House lights snap on unexpectedly; a spotlight finds an audience member. And yet for all these frills, the heart of the play survives. For Cyrano loves Roxane (Susannah Fielding), a childhood friend and recent widow – and she loves a handsome man of few words, Christian (an amusing, Brummie-accented Levi Brown) who has joined Cyrano’s regiment.
For all Cyrano’s bluster, tall tales, and mastery of the sword, he is a man with heart and vulnerability. When Roxane wants to share a secret, he crafts a nervous declaration he can never share.
Also in pursuit of Roxane is the Comte de Guiche (a gloriously tatty and uncomfortable Scott Handy), whose jealousy sets in place the start of tragedy. He wears his clothes with a lack of grace and acts through sheer peevish power.
Fielding’s Roxane is quite a match for Lester’s Cyrano, with a shared understanding and love of wordplay. While the audience may be inwardly screaming that they belong together, he is scared to declare himself and she may look at him but fails to see his soul.
Then there’s the music. In the original play, Cyrano won some musicians for a day; here it is a year and they follow him everywhere, becoming an integral part of the drama. Alex Baranowski, composer, and Josh Sneesby, musical director, allow the music become its own supporting player.
Bethan Clark’s work as fight and intimacy director is excellent, while Sarita Piotrowski’s movement direction and Donato Wharton’s sound design add intimacy and atmosphere.
I also liked Joshie Harriette’s lighting design – be aware there is a short blackout in act two – and Grace Smart‘s set of two tiers, also encompassing a couple of the theatre’s boxes. But it is the language and the performances that lift this, and rightly so.
I’d personally favour less use of the stage floor – hard to see from many stall seats – and wonder how much of that immersive feel is lost from the upper seating levels. However, this is going to become a Cyrano I recall with pleasure.
4.5 stars.
Cyrano de Bergerac continues at Noel Coward Theatre – see https://www.noelcowardtheatre.co.uk/whats-on/cyrano-de-bergerac.
Photo credit: Marc Brenner