His uniform is picturesque; a hat with triple plume
Doublet, cape, and sword – worn like a peacock’s tail.
From the eyebrows up, he’s all feathers
From the neck down, it’s buckle and swash –
But squeezed between is a nose – a nose…
A modest poet such as I must fail entirely
To describe this gross, immodest, monstrous nose.
Cyrano de Bergerac, a brilliant poet and swordsman, is deeply in love with his brilliant and beautiful cousin Roxane. Each day of his life is lived only for her – every poem he writes, every duel he fights.
But, despite his dash and his daring, Cyrano is afraid of revealing his true feelings, certain she will never love him in return. For who could love a man with such an enormous nose?
Award-winning playwright Deborah McAndrew has adapted Edmond Rostand’s original 1897 play of unrequited love set in the golden age of musketeers. This version of Cyrano de Bergerac, for 13 actors, received its world premiere at the New Vic Theatre, Newcastle, on 3 February 2017 as part of a national tour, produced by Northern Broadsides and the New Vic Theatre.
