Cyrano de Bergerac

After a shaky opening scene, which suffered from a combination of poor audibility and difficult audience orientation, this production developed well. By difficult audience orientation I mean it was difficult to know what was going on. There was a lot of activity, very little vocal projection, and the realisation that this was a play within a play or a flashback dawned slowly. Perhaps a deliberately “hammier” declamatory statement from the “poet” in addition to more volume from the nuns could have brought more order to this opening part of Act 1. This would have made it easier to engage with and locate the subsequent action.  Leaving that aside, the production subsequently developed a rhythm of its own with a strong combination of comedy, romance and even tragedy.  Excellent use of varied lighting with an attractive static set and various large props successfully created the four different scenes. I very much liked the use of different soundscapes to complement the stage activity, the battle scene being particularly effective.

Paul Bonnici, in his first significant role I think, did a splendid job of characterizing this enigmatic principal, Cyrano de Bergerac. In what must be one of the wordier parts in this or any play he delivered his lines with confidence and panache.  Some attention to pronunciation of the “th” sounds (not as “ff”) would improve the delivery even further. Ian McDonald was a soft-spoken Christian de Neuvillette, contrasting with the assertive and more macho Cyrano. Neil Fisher, always strong, was a forthright Count Antoine de Guiche. Robin Winder and Scott Peters as Le Bret and Ragueneau, respectively, were natural and reliable supporting performers. Ghislaine Davis was at home as Roxane. Her natural French accent was a real asset to this part and she displayed good understanding of the nuances of the role. The ladies playing the remaining parts showed considerable versatility as nuns, cadets and divers other roles.  Sometimes the vocal power was a little lacking and could have done with more projection and enunciation, so that the words were spoken clearly and separately. However, this was an intermittent rather than persistent concern. The costumes were very good throughout and I suspect the decision not to use wigs (Cyrano’s hair was his own?) was a wise one given the hassle with quick costume changes.

In many ways this was an ambitious production, requiring a cast of 12 and very dependent on a strong Cyrano. However, MDG pulled it off and delivered a highly entertaining production that I am sure will grow in stature throughout the week. Many thanks to the Front of House team who always provide a warm and hospitable welcome. 

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