Adrian Lester’s Cyrano de Bergerac Is Fabulous, Funny and Utterly Heartbreaking at the Noël Coward

Cyrano de Bergerac | Noël Coward Theatre until 5 September 2026

Fabulous, funny and utterly heartbreaking. This Cyrano is a triumph.

Cyrano de Bergerac is superbly told and staged in this new RSC production of Edmond Rostand’s 1897 classic. Cyrano, a poet, soldier, and brilliant wit, is tormented by his huge nose, convinced it makes him unlovable. He secretly adores his cousin Roxane, but she falls for Christian, a handsome young soldier who possesses looks but lacks words.

Cyrano strikes a deal. He will write Christian’s love letters, providing Roxane with the poetry she craves, while Christian receives the credit. It’s a story about hidden identities and whether face or words make one worthy of love, a classic, aching tale of people in love with the wrong person.

Olivier winner Adrian Lester, who won Best Actor for Company at the Donmar, reprises the role he played to huge acclaim for the RSC in Stratford last year. That acclaim is fully justified in a beautifully rounded, fully realised performance that combines excellent physicality and sword fighting with exquisite verse speaking.

Susannah Fielding reprises her role as Roxane with a brilliantly detailed performance, showing her growth and maturation throughout the play. Completing the trio is Levi Brown as Christian. Here, the production takes a slightly different approach to the character, who is often portrayed as a handsome hunk or “himbo.” Brown’s Christian is a more down to earth, practical soldier with a Birmingham accent. Initially, I found it jarring, but as the play progresses, it genuinely works to make the differences between the two men believable and ultimately heartbreaking.

This new translation, directed by Simon Evans, comes to us from Stratford, where the RSC appears to be returning to its roots of performing Shakespeare while also pioneering new work. It garnered wonderful notices there.

Some may recall Jamie Lloyd’s 2019 version, with James McAvoy and Martin Crimp’s modern dress adaptation, bare stage, no prosthetic nose, hip hop rhythms in the verse, which won the Olivier for Best Revival. Lloyd’s work can be hit or miss, but that one certainly succeeded.

This production takes a different route, returning to the poetry and the period with Grace Smart’s period flavoured design. A wonderful conceit runs through it. Cyrano wins a bet that provides him with a band, and this band follows him everywhere, providing musical accompaniment. What starts as funny becomes moving, underscoring the play’s later, more emotional aspects. I found myself crying twice, even knowing the ending.

Most people probably know the story from the Steve Martin film Roxanne, which updated it well, or the Gérard Depardieu film, which used a different translation but still told the same wonderful story with its poetry. This production, though, is a beautiful, romantic piece of theatre. Get lost in the witty wordplay, it’s very funny, and enjoy some truly well choreographed fight scenes.

Poetry, swordplay and heartbreak. Cyrano de Bergerac is just fabulous. Adrian Lester and Susannah Fielding reprise their acclaimed RSC roles in this beautiful new translation. Funny, moving, and superbly staged, with great fight scenes throughout.

Go for the verse, stay for the band that trails Cyrano through every scene turning a comic wager into something that will catch you off guard by the final act. EyeOnLondon would happily sit through it twice.

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[Image Credits | Marc Brenner]

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