Cyrano
★★★★☆ Sparkling
Traverse (Venue 15): Thu 1 – Sun 25 Aug 2024
Review by Hugh Simpson
The European premiere of Roast Productions’ Cyrano at the Traverse is an irreverent, intelligent and funny gender-flipped version of Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac.
Retold many times in different media, the central premise remains the same – poet Cyrano loves Roxanne, but (on account of a massive nose) does not believe Roxanne can ever return that love. Then Roxanne falls for handsome but limited Christian, who cannot woo her as she wishes – unless Cyrano helps out.
Virginia Gay as Cyrano. Pic: Mihaela Bodlovic
Although the sub-plots and supporting characters have been largely jettisoned, this starts off as a largely faithful retelling of the plot. Except that the setting, although unspecified, is clearly modern. And Cyrano (the play’s writer Virginia Gay) is female.
Mention is often made of Cyrano’s huge nose, but no attempt is made to provide any kind of prosthetics. So perhaps we are supposed to assume that Cyrano’s worry in that area is a symptom of some other reason why she feels her love dare not speak its name. It probably is, as the play keeps reminding us that so many things are metaphors. (Unless they’re actually similes).
panache and swagger
Gay’s performance is full of the necessary panache and swagger, and of self-pity disguised as arrogance. It is also – like so much of her script – extremely funny.
Despite the lack of reverence for the source, the production is very serious about its commitment to storytelling. It also confronts head-on what modernising the story in this way means. Whether the route Gay takes when sorting this out is the right one may be up for debate, but what cannot be questioned is that it leads to a great deal of fun.
Tanvi Virmani, Tessa Wong, David Tarkenter, Jessica Whitehurst and Brandon Grace in Cyrano. Oic: Mihaela Bodlovic
Such explorations of the nature of language and theatrical storytelling can be dry and forbidding, but not here – the sense of community and possibility is represented by a Greek Chorus played by Tessa Wong, David Tarkenter and Tanvi Virmani, who provide many of the funniest moments.
Brandon Grace (Christian – or as he prefers, Yan) and Jessica Whitehurst (Roxanne) suffer a little in that their characters are more limited than the multitudinous Roxanne. This is deliberate, and pointed out, but still creates problems – although both actors overcome them with sparky, funny performances.
irrepressible spirit
Clare Watson’s direction is excellent, giving an apparently chaotic, freewheeling production the most careful of structures. A word, too, for the movement and intimacy co-ordination of Ana Beatriz Meireles, and for Amanda Stoodley’s versatile design.
This is a production of irrepressible spirit, celebrating the endless variety of stories and the whole rainbow of ways we can love, hope and express joy. Oh, and there are streamers and party hats too.
Running time: One hour and 25 minutes (no interval)
Traverse Theatre (Traverse 1), 10 Cambridge St, EH1 2ED (Venue 15)
Thursday 1 – Sunday 25 August 2024
Various times (see website for details)
Details and tickets: book here.
Traverse website: Further details.
Instagram: @cyranolive
Virginia Gay, Brandon Grace and Jessica Whitehurst with David Tarkenter, Tessa Wong and Tanvi Virmani in Cyrano. Pic: Mihaela Bodlovic
ENDS
