Review - Cyrano De Bergerac The RSC
- debra Hall
- Oct 22
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 23
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Title:Cyrano de Bergerac
Written by Edmond Rostand
Directed and co-adapted by Simon Evans
Co-adaptor Debris Stevenson
Written over a century ago and premiered in the same year (1897) Cyrano de Bergerac is a fictionally stretched version of the real life of Cyrano (de Bergerac), a man with a reputation for being skilled with the sword and a brilliant wordsmith, who had French nobility roots and who lived through the whole of the reign of Louis XIII and beyond.
Rostand’s Cyrano is a military man, fearless: a hero; armed too with a wide vocabulary, yet cursed with self consciousness about his exceptionally long nose. He has been secretly in love with Roxane for as long as he can remember. They have a warm friendship and share an appreciation for language. However, he is guarded, as he has always feared her rejection. She, on the other hand, has fallen for Christian, a guy from a farm working background, down to earth and a bit of a looker, but he’s no poet. Unselfishly, at first, Cyrano agrees to help Christian woo Roxane by writing her romantic notes and love poetry on his behalf.
Two themes of the play are lies and deceit. However, it is Comte De Guiche who is the real villain. Once believing he was the ideal suitor for Roxane, then realising he is rivalled, he calls the regiment to arms (which includes Cyrano and Christian) to face almost certain death.
This new adaptation of Cyrano by Simon Evans and Debris Stevenson and directed by Evans, has arguably, further refined this romantic comedy (in English) about Cyrano and his unrequited love.
The whole body of the script has a grammatical coding under a poetic structure. This may sound bookish and not for performance, but this is not the case and it really works. For example, the dialogue between Cyrano and Roxane is often alliteration and when Christian gets stuck for words, he resorts to sharing his knowledge of collective nouns; Ragueneau’s empathy and storytelling is in rhyme and so it goes:
‘[…] the team have created a whole system of poetics for the characters in this play’ Debris Stevenson, Co-Adaptor
Renowned actor, Adrian Lester mixes well the tragedy and the comedy of Cyrano, he is boldly theatrical, sharp and energetic and at the sad times is heartbreakingly convincing in the lead role. The false nose does not hide the eyes, they twinkle.
It is RSC debut season for Lester, as well for other members of the cast, including Levi Brown (Christian) who is cheeky with his delivery and his action is full of energy: (movement by creative Sarita Piotrowski). He and Lester have a good few memorable moments including an incredibly well staged fight scene, Bethan Clark, from the creatve team to credit for that.
Susannah Fielding is truly professional but perhaps not the best fit for a convincing Roxane whereas other players in key roles including Chris Navak (Montfleury), Scott Handy (De Guiche), Christian Patterson (Ragueneau) and Greer Dale-Foulkes (Abigail), really shine.
This adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac is astonishingly clever both lyrically and poetically, an outstanding production overall, mentioning also: Cyrano's band members also part of the ensemble: Josh Sneesby, Oliver Grant and Rachel Dawson and small boy Tyrae Lammy. Set and Costume: Grace Smart, Lighting: Joshie Harriette, Composer: Alex Baranowski and Sound: Donato Wharton.
ENDS
Cyrano de Bergerac the RSC review by theatre critic, Debra Hall who attended the matinee performance at the Swan Theatre, Stratford Upon Avon on Wednesday 22 October, 2025 at 1.30pm
References
RSC printed programme Cyrano De Bergerac 2025/26 Season
Asker, D. production photography Royal Shakespeare Company Oct 22 2025
Spark Notes Literature Guide(s)
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