The Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Edmond Rostand’s 1897 Cyrano de Bergerac has arrived in London: a production which, in Simon Evans and Debris Stevenson’s adaptation, balances classical sweep with a contemporary relevance and emotional clarity, honouring the playwright’s romanticism whilst refusing to treat it as a museum piece.
Cyrano was a real-life 17th-century French writer, soldier, duellist, and free-thinking intellectual, even if he bears little resemblance to Rostand’s romantic hero! He served in the French army, fought at the Siege of Arras, and was known for his courage as well as his sharp tongue! He wrote some of the earliest works of science fiction, and there is no evidence of his love for his much younger distant cousin, Roxane (a lovely, truthful performance by Susannah Fielding). His “nose” was large but not monstrous as is often portrayed. The play transforms him into a mythic lover rather than a radical thinker.
In the title role, Adrian Lester brings precision, intelligence and emotional transparency to the role, but what makes his performance compelling is the way he resists the temptation to lean too heavily on the character’s flamboyance. His Cyrano is witty and dazzlingly articulate, but the bravado is always tinged with self-awareness. This is shown to great effect in the play’s fifth and final act, which is very moving and subtly underplayed – it draws the audience in so that it feels even more involved: totally beautiful! Lester plays him as a man who knows exactly how exhausting it is to be the cleverest person in the room!
Christian, in love with Roxane but too shy to woo her, is athletically played by Levi Brown. Some of the most amusing moments in the piece are when Cyrano is continually prompting Christian with romantic phrases – and more, both actors sparring off each other with great energy.
The whole ensemble is superb, as one expects from a RSC production, especially Christian Patterson as the baker-poet Ragueneau, whose opening monologue addressed to both the audience and the young Cyrano, sets the tone as well as the scene for what is to follow.
Director Simon Evans’ staging is clean, unfussy, and driven by language. Grace Smart’s set and costume designs are spare but atmospheric, which gives the piece a fluidity that suits Rostand’s episodic structure, as well as a focus on the relationships at the heart of the story. This pays off most clearly in the scenes between Cyrano. Christian and Roxane. The love triangle is often played for broad comedy or heightened melodrama, but here it feels grounded and emotionally coherent. The chemistry between all three is warm and believable, Roxane in particular emerging as a woman whose intellect and romantic imagination shape the narrative as much as the men’s do. Her scenes with Cyrano crackle with a mutual respect that makes the final scene all the more devastating.
Two other elements need to be mentioned: firstly, the superbly inventive lighting design of Joshie Harriette, and “Cyrano’s Band” of six musicians under the direction of Josh Sneesby, which both underscores much of the play as well as providing musical compositions by Alex Baranowski. Often, I loathe “sound maps/soundscapes” as they intrude into what one should be concentrating on, but not here, the players, including a tenor horn beautifully executed, quickly becoming essential to the whole.
I have always avoided Cyrano de Bergerac in the past, probably because of nightmarish memories of A-level French, but I am so pleased that I was able to see this particular rendering. The ninety-minute first half is perhaps a tad too long, but that is more than balanced by the much tighter and superbly involving second part, which I, and many others around me in the audience, clearly found very moving.
Very highly recommended on all counts!
Poet. Soldier. Philosopher. Cyrano de Bergerac burns with brilliance.
Fiercely funny and intensely romantic, Cyrano lives by his words and his sword. Haunted by doubts about his own his appearance, he watched from the shadows as Roxane falls for another man. Handsome but hopeless with words, Christian turns to the one person who can help.
Cyrano’s Band/Éloïse – Lizzie May Bell
Christian de Neuvillette – Levi Brown
Cyrano’s Band/Bastien – Joe Butcher
Edmond – Joseph Christain
Sister Claire/Madame Jodolet – Sunny Chung
Le Bret – Philip Cumbus
Abigail – Greer Dale-Foulkes
Cyrano’s Band/Ann-Sofie – Rachel Dawson
Roxane – Susannah Fielding
Cyrano’s Band/Jean – Oliver Grant
Comte de Guiche – Scott Handy
Arnauld – Robert Jackson
Cyrano de Bergerac – Adrian Lester
Jodolet/Carbon – David Mildon
Valvert/Pierre – Matt Mordak
Cyrano’s Band/Étienne – Fergus Murphy
Monfluery/Bernard – Chris Nayak
Louis – Daniel Norford
Ragueneau – Christian Patterson
Cyrano’s Band/Raphael – Josh Sneesby
Director & Co-Adaptor – Simon Evans
Co-Adaptor – Debris Stevenson
Set & Costume Designer – Grace Smart
Lighting Designer – Joshie Harriette
Composer – Alex Baranowski
Sound Designer – Donato Wharton
Movement Director – Sarita Piotrowski
Fight and Intimacy Director – Bethan Clark
Dramaturg – Rebecca Latham
Casting Director – Matthew Dewsbury CDG
CYRANO DE BERGERAC
Noël Coward Theatre
13 June to 5 September 2026
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