Recently I got the pleasure of seeing Cyrano De Bergerac starring James McAvoy at the Playhouse Theatre through my school. It was an absolutely incredible piece of theatre, and my inner drama nerd was in her element. But this version had something special about it compared to previous takes on this old story.
This adaptation of Edmund Rostand’s by Martin Crimp and directed by Jamie Lloyd has been praised for it’s diverse cast, and the minimalist way it has been staged to draw attention to the moral of the story at hand. The play features McAvoy as Cyrano, a man deeply in love with a woman named Roxanne. He helps her current suitor, Christian, to write her beautiful letters, and then – well, I won’t spoil the ending. However, in the classic version of this tale, Cyrano has a big nose, and is deemed ugly. This is almost the opposite in this performance. Everyone on stage talks about Cyrano’s nose, but McAvoy looks completely normal – many would argue the best looking on stage. So why this twist?
In my opinion, this decision made the meaning of the story more prominent. It is, in short, about a woman who falls in love with the words, not the face. An incredibly beautiful and moving tale, that doesn’t need elaborate sets or makeup to tell itself. Michael Billington in an article for the Guardian wrote “This is a Cyrano that dispenses with conventional spectacle, colourful costumes and visual flummery.”
I highly recommend going to see this play if you can. It I an amazing story, with a wonderful cast, and even live beatboxing. What more could you want?
Cyrano De Bergerac is at the Playhouse Theatre, London, until the 29th of February.
