Cyrano de Bergerac

I always enjoy this play, although it’s been a while since I last saw it.  But this is a fantastic revival.  Modern but keeping the spirit of the original, there’s verve from the very start in making sure the audience know they are part of the action.  The first half leans heavily into the rom-com-iness of it all, whilst the second half takes us off to a bleak war before back home again.  

I have never seen Adrian Lester turn in a bad performance and this is no exception.  He dazzles as early Cyrano, playful and passionate, whilst still retaining cynical outsider vibes, and then makes the switch to sadder Cyrano completely seamlessly.  Susannah Fielding’ is excellent as Roxanne too - no limp lettuce and with her own agency.  

Costume and set are all gorgeous, keeping to tradition despite the more modern sensibility and language.  I really enjoyed the poetry too, and unlike The Misanthrope last week it never detracted from clarity or meaning.  The acrostic made me laugh a lot although it did go on a bit!  I really loved the final touch at the end as Cyrano’s language which has been a central joy of his life, fails him at the end.  Clever and moving. 

My only complaint was that it was quite long at just under 3 hours with the interval.   I think there is probably 10 minutes which could be cut from this without any impact.  The downside of this extra time is that I missed my usual train home and ended up on the late one full of people from the pub.  

But this is lovely and highly recommended.  And I am assuming the sniffling both sides of us at the end, plus the full house standing ovation mean the rest of the audience enjoyed it too.