In a world where appearance is that of an obsession, determining one’s social capital in our virtual reality, this traditional story is of great relevance today. Exploring love beyond objectification, the modern adaption provides a significant message for its audience.

 

Focusing on Cyrano himself (played by James McAvoy) as his striking nose holds him back from ‘getting the girl’, the comedy unfolds as he is forced to use other means to win her over. Unlike other productions, the National choose not to include a false nose, meaning the humour of it all is entirely down to McAvoy’s acting. The audience are forced to look beyond his physicality, imagining an ugly nose to counteract his not so ugly personality, just as Roxanne (Anita-Joy Uwajeh) is forced to see beyond his appearance.

 

We see Roxanne caught up in the realities of objectification for the opposite reason, her beauty is a symbol of invitation.

 

The play heightens these oppositions and yet they sit so close together, both equally as dangerous in isolating the characters. A sharp take on modern beauty standards and their threat to humanity.

 

The collective identity created by the ensemble and their beatboxing throughout the play accounts for a great deal of atmosphere. It felt significantly current throughout, with a strong rhythm to aid the delivery of speech. The dense dialogue never felt too much and was easily accessible in musical form.

 

Amidst the depth of the play, there are many a light-hearted moment, a laugh when three characters go in for a kiss at once as Cyrano wins Roxanne with his words but Christian (Eben Figueiredo) takes credit with his face. The comical confusion only mirrors the conflict between the value of one’s appearance over personality in our society. Even the humour holds depth in this production.

 

Cyrano de Bergerac is a thought-provoking examination of love, beauty and relationships to oneself and others. It is performed with great vitality, creating a buzz on stage that is somewhat infectious and impossible not to catch.