Image: www.sydneytheatre.com.au
From the moment Cyrano swings onto stage from the rooftops, to the inevitable moving final scenes, this is theatre at its finest. Richard Roxburgh dons the prominent schnoz to play the title role in Edmond Rostand’s sprawling epic of wordplay, swordplay, adventure and romance.
At the heart of it is our tragicomic hero Cyrano, the fearless militant, poet and romantic. He wields a mean sword and possesses a wit to match.
Andrew Upton’s direction of this work is masterful. The pacing is crucial to its success, as we move from the raucous and public opening scenes, to battlefields, to an intimate and private ending. The large ensemble of army cadets, bakers and French aristocrats are excellent and the cast handle the lyrical prose well.
Strong support comes from Josh McConville as De Guiche, Cyrano’s snide adversary, Dale March as the pompous Valvert and Yalin Ozucelik, as Le Bret, Cyrano’s trusted friend. Mention should also be made of David Whitney as the baker and aspiring poet, Rageneau, as his “almond tart sonnet” is a highlight.
Underpinning the comedy is an ever-present sense of danger. The staging is seamless and fight scenes choreographed by Nigel Poulter are truly thrilling.
Marion Potts’ translation has streamlined the original play, trimming the fat off some of the sub-plot lines and additional characters, without losing any of the emotional impact. Damien Cooper’s lighting design is subtle and powerful when required.
At his core, Cyrano is fundamentally a broken man. He compensates for his disfigurement with witticisms and impressive tricks on the battlefield. But when he learns his love for childhood friend Roxane is unrequited, we see that he no longer cares what happens to him. Richard Roxburgh is unrelenting in the title role. For all the excellence of the ensemble, this is a play that demands a commanding central performance and Roxburgh delivers in spades.
As his love interest, Eryn Jean Norville is outstanding as Roxane. The role of Christian could be a thankless part, but Chris Ryan’s performance is hilarious as the handsome but witless cadet. He brings a sincerity and skater-dude charm to the role.
Julia Zemiro was cleverly cast in the role of Duenna, and managed to make a big impact in her few scenes. The battle of Arras packed clout, and was truly eerie at times, leaving us vulnerable for the ending. Throughout the show, the elements of comedy and pathos are always beautifully balanced, making the final scenes all the more tragic.
If you have not met Cyrano before, you could not do better than this production.
Cyrano de Bergerac
Sydney Theatre, Hickson Road Walsh Bay
Director: Andrew Upton
Associate Director: Kip Williams
Designer: Alice Babidge
Associate Designer: Renee Mulder
Lighting Designer: Damien Cooper
Composer and Sound Designer: Paul Charlier
Fight Director: Nigel Poulton
Cast: Alan Dukes, Gabriel Gilbert-Dey, George Kemp, Dale March, Josh McConville, Kenneth Moraleda, Eryn Jean Norvill, Yalin Ozucelik, Michael Pigott, Richard Roxburgh, Chris Ryan, Bruce Spence, Emily Tomlins, Aaron Tsindos, David Whitney, Julia Zemiro
11 November – 20 December 2014
