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The Story
Whether taking on a hundred armed ruffians or composing a poem while fighting a duel, 17th-century superman Cyrano de Bergerac does everything with “panache,” the defiant attitude symbolized by the white plume he wears in his hat. But there’s one thing that discourages even this passionate, romantic spirit from declaring his love for the beautiful Roxane: his grotesquely long nose. Bravely concealing his dismay when the unwitting Roxane confides in him that she loves the handsome Christian de Neuvillette, an officer in Cyrano’s own company, Cyrano promises to be Christian’s friend and protector. Even more heroically, he agrees to help Christian in his wooing, writing the inarticulate young man’s love letters for him and coaching him in romantic speeches. Meanwhile, Cyrano’s commanding officer, the Comte de Guiche, has dishonourable designs of his own upon Roxane. Cyrano manages to thwart de Guiche’s attempts at seduction until Roxane and Christian can be married – but before the wedding can be consummated, the furious de Guiche orders Christian and Cyrano to depart with him on a campaign to besiege the city of Arras. There, cut off from their supply lines, de Guiche’s men face starvation, their morale upheld only by Cyrano’s indomitable spirit. Every day he writes to Roxane on Christian’s behalf; every day he risks death to get the letter across enemy lines. Then, on the battlefield, fate takes a tragic turn – and it will be many years before Roxane realizes whose soul it was that truly won her heart.
From the Director: Notes by Donna Feore
Despite the action, the comedy and the epic scale of the piece, Cyrano de Bergerac is above all a romance, and that is something that attracted me to this play. I feel that now is the ideal time for a play like this, which sparks the imagination and transports us to a more heroic age. The language has a unique beauty, and it has been a pleasure for all involved to embrace the spoken word with relish.
The idea of the outsider is something that resonates with artists, who by nature are often apart from the community at large. Cyrano, because of his own emotional and physical characteristics, is set apart; we feel his pain while marvelling at his wit and daring.
What interests me about Edmond Rostand as a playwright is that he wasn’t interested in following the trends of his time but listened instead to his own artistic pulse. Writing in 1897, he didn’t shy away from creating an epic romance about the 17th century, thus flying in the face of the genres that were popular in his time. He embraced sentiment, romance and emotion with humour and skill, while at the same time honouring the writing traditions of the past.
It has been a great asset to have the original French version at our fingertips during the planning and rehearsal stages. It has been fascinating to see that Rostand, the poet, is at times more economical and prosaic than Anthony Burgess, the translator. However, Burgess has been able to capture the beauty of the original French in a way that few have been able to do in the past. This production is unique, as far as I know, in that we’ve kept several passages in French, thus allowing our audiences to hear Rostand in his original voice.
Stratford Shakespeare Festival Production History1962 – Festival Theatre
Director: Michael Langham
Designers: Desmond Heeley and Tanya Moiseiwitsch
Christopher Plummer as Cyrano de Bergerac
Toby Robins as Roxane
1994 – Festival Theatre
Director: Derek Goldby
Designer: Tim Goodchild
Colm Feore as Cyrano de Bergerac
Martha Burns as Roxane
Related Events
Fri. July 10: Meet the Festival with Amanda Lisman and Mike Shara
Tom Patterson Theatre
9:30 a.m.
Free admission; no tickets.
Wed. July 15: Table Talk with Donald Bruce
Paul D. Fleck Marquee
11:30 a.m.
$35 including lunch.
Thurs. Aug. 6: Talking Theatre
Tom Patterson Theatre
9:30 a.m.
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Thurs. Aug. 13: Talking Theatre
Tom Patterson Theatre
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Sat. Sept. 26: Theatre Explorer
Festival Theatre
10:30 a.m.
$50 including lunch.