Swan Theatre RSC – until 25th October 2025
Reviewed by Amarjeet Singh
4****
Cyrano de Bergerac is Edmond Rostand’s 1897 romantic comedy play about the nobleman and soldier, Cyrano, who is gifted in every facet of life except his face. Supporting a large nose, his larger-than-life personality and strong will, cannot overcome the crippling self-doubt and shame he feels for this. Mocked as a child, his insecurities repeatedly reinforced, he squares up to and defeats any challenge, except to admit his love for Roxane. Distant cousins, they have grown together. Loving her for her intelligence and beauty, he does not believe she will see beyond his looks. Unbeknownst of his feelings for her, she falls in love with Christian, a soldier who falls short in romantic expression. The two men combine to make a whole, one lacking in linguistics, the other in looks. Working together to win the heart of Roxane, Cyrano writes letters under the guise of Christian. Cyrano employs all his poetic prowess, pouring out his true feelings to an unsuspecting Roxane, who believes its Christian who is romancing her.
Cyrano de Bergerac is brought to the RSC by director Simon Evans in collaboration with poet Debris Stevenson. Co-adapting the play, which is written entirely in verse, they have managed to retain the lyricism whilst adding a modern spin, delivering a production with fresh, emotional resonance that both honours the classic and breathes vibrant new life into it. Adrian Lester presents us with a magnificent Cyrano. He navigates the protagonists mixed emotions with ease and authenticity, balancing moments of bravado and razor-sharp wit with painful insecurity and fear of emotional exposure. Dazzling with sword and word play, Cyrano may be a brilliant soldier, musician and poet, but it is in the quiet pain behind his ‘panache’ that we are truly exposed to his depth, and Lester delivers on every front.
The contrast between Cyrano and Christian is clearly defined but not laboured. Levi Brown’s Christian is plucky and passionate, unafraid to face off against Cyrano who yields defeat in the face of Christian’s good looks and youth. Susannah Fielding offers a luminous Roxane, clever, quick, spirited, and keenly aware of her worth, yet haunted by an unhappy marriage ending in widowhood. Scott Handy brings a deliciously oily threat to the role of Comte de Guiche. He has a remarkably touching transformation by the end of the performance.
Grace Smart’s set and costume design are subtle yet effective. Swarthy curtains to evoke the theatre crumbling plaster walls are adorned with half-finished love poems and a disconnected oak, periodically shedding leaves like letters and never quite connecting in the middle, much like the relationships in the play. There is a wonderful joke which continues throughout, where a band of musicians Cyrano won in a bet, play Alex Baranowski’s stirring music whenever he commands. Evans and Stevenson have liberally laced humour throughout the piece, it’s both well timed and wickedly executed. Joshie Harriette’s lighting design is reactive to the rhythms of the text, shifting to reflect emotional peaks and poetic flights. The result is a production that feels both grounded in tradition and alive with invention.
This Cyrano de Bergerac celebrates the power and pliability of language while never losing sight of its limitations, particularly when it comes to expressing love and longing. It is a micro exploration on how we present ourselves to the world, the quiet courage it takes to reveal our true selves and the pain of things being left unsaid.