Cyrano de Bergerac review – James McAvoy is fierce in radical reboot of romantic classic

Playhouse, London
Visual flummery and the famous nose are dispensed with in Martin Crimp’s modern take on Rostand’s proxy-wooing play

This version of Edmond Rostand’s play, as adapted by Martin Crimp and directed by Jamie Lloyd, is not exactly Cyrano as we know it. It may not even be as we like it. But I found myself gradually warming to this radical deconstruction of Rostand’s heroic comedy and totally captivated by James McAvoy’s performance as the swaggering Gascon.

We are supposedly in a French theatre in 1640. What we actually see is a cast in modern dress who frequently line up across the stage using hand or stand mics. We still get the familiar story of Cyrano’s proxy wooing of Roxane by putting words into the mouth of the inarticulate Christian. But, although endless jests are made about Cyrano’s conk, McAvoy doesn’t sport the usual false appendage. While driven by doubts about his ugliness, this Cyrano is also arguably the best-looking man on stage. So what is going on?

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from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2qwX1GA