Last Updated on June 26, 2026
A moving Cyrano with words that fly
5.0 out of 5.0 starsGetting an entire audience onto its feet is no mean feat in the London theatre. Yet this is how we found ourselves early in the RSC production of Cyrano de Bergerac, which has opened at the Noel Coward Theatre. In fact, the opening scenes had me wondering quite where this might all lead.
Director Simon Evans had the actors breaking the fourth wall, running about the stalls, giving the audience directions (we shouted out repeatedly, ‘it’s f……ing huge’), and creating quite an atmosphere before the play settled into a more traditional storytelling. Transferred to the West End from its stellar run at Stratford, this production is the RSC at its best. A big story with an even bigger heart, great acting, sets and costumes, music and, perhaps most importantly, words.
Cyrano de Bergerac was written in 1897 by Frenchman Edmond Rostand, based on elements of the life of 17th-century duelist and writer Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac. In the play, Cyrano is a soldier, a philosopher and a poet, brave and bold. Despite all his talents, he has suffered from a lifetime of ridicule because of his very large nose, which has affected his self-esteem. He is in love with a beautiful woman, Roxanne, with whom he grew up, but has never dared to declare his feelings as he assumes she will reject him due to his looks.
Roxanne has returned to Paris following the death of her husband – a release from an unhappy and stifling marriage – during the ongoing Franco-Spanish war. She is smitten by a young soldier, Christian, who lacks the gift of the gab. He persuades Cyrano, his commanding officer, to write to Roxanne on his behalf. So begins the deception through which Cyrano can, via his proxy, declare his love to Roxanne in a flurry of poetic letters.
As this complex love triangle develops, Cyrano has to content himself with the vicarious pleasure of witnessing Christian’s love for Roxanne and her resulting happiness. Roxanne admits that she has ‘fallen in love with the man who wrote the letters’ and discovers too late exactly which man this is. The path of love never runs smooth, and there is plenty of tragedy to balance out the enjoyable comedy in Cyrano.
The writing is one of the standout features of this production. The original script was written in Alexandrine rhyming couplets and makes for a complex translation. For this production, Simon Evans brought in poet and playwright Debris Stevenson to co-adapt the script. Each character is given their own rhythm and metre. The prose and poetry are of such a standard that it felt at times like watching a Shakespearean tragicomedy.
In an early scene, a vigorous sword fight takes place while Cyrano recites an acrostic poem in a brilliant piece of writing and acting. The scenes during which Cyrano and Roxanne play word games are both enchanting and beautifully acted, words like musical notes in a score. Their final scene together was so movingly written and acted that I doubt there was a dry eye in the house when the curtain fell.
The music also contributed a huge amount to this production, with the band of musicians playing a significant role. Early on in the proceedings, Cyrano explains that he has won a wager, and the prize is a personal band that accompanies him. The band appears on stage, in the audience, in the theatre boxes, creating humour and a comedic and deeply emotive atmosphere as the story unfolds. The play focuses on the difficulty of expressing emotions through words, and the music, composed by Alex Baranowski, provided a non-verbal dialogue running through the production.
In a sizeable company, Adrian Lester’s performance was stellar and full of the panache for which Cyrano is renowned. He brought muscularity and physicality to the role while remaining graceful and nimble of foot, especially in the sword-fighting scenes. Simultaneously, he was gentle and romantic, and his ability to bring the beautifully poetic prose to life was remarkable. Lester embodied all the facets of this complex character, and by the end of the lengthy play, running to just under three hours with an interval, we felt deeply for him.
Susannah Fielding was a fabulous Roxanne, her wit and joyful engagement with the giddiness of new love so convincing, despite the sorrows that have befallen her in the past. She, too, revealed impressive verbal dexterity. Her final outburst when she realised the deception between the two men she had loved was very moving.
Other standout performances were provided by an ebullient Christian Patterson as the engaging Ragueneau, Scott Handy as the arch-villain, Comte de Guiche, Levi Brown as the lovestruck and somewhat hapless Christian de Neuvillette, and Greer Dale-Foulkes, whose comedic Abigail added her wit and sassiness to the production.
Cyrano was a very amusing and engaging play – there was a lot of wit, sword fighting (Bethan Clark), the death and loss of war, and ultimately, a poignant love story in which no one gets the person they desire. The play speaks to our time, which is obsessed more than ever with the perfection of the face, body and image. It explores the theme of body shaming and how lives are blighted and limited by it. Finally, it questions whether deception should ever take the place of truth in human relations.
Cyrano de Bergerac runs at Noel Coward Theatre from 13 June – 5 September 2026
Noel Coward Theatre, 85 – 88 St Martin’s Lane, London WC2N 4AU
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