Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – An explosive James McAvoy leads a radical, language drunk adaptation of CYRANO DE BERGERAC

• By drediman
• April 16, 2022
• No Comments

This past week, the Jaimie Lloyd Company’s highly anticipated production of Cyrano de Bergerac – which won the prize for Best Revival at the 2020 Olivier Awards – opened at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Harvey Theater. The revival, which previously played the West End to great acclaim, is led by film star James McAvoy (who has appeared in movies like The Last King of Scotland, Atonement, and X-Men) plays the larger-than-life, famously long-nosed title character, whose overwhelming love for a woman (the strong-minded Roxanne) leads him to express his undying romantic affection through another man (the handsome soldier Christian).

In this radical modern dress adaptation by Martin Crimp (Edmond Rostand’s play has spawned many an adaptation), language and poetry are front and center. The text is a combination of traditional verse, contemporary poetry, and hip-hop driven spoken word. What’s astonishing is how comfortably these vernaculars co-exist. What’s also wonderful is how Mr. Crimp’s language drunk adaptation expands on Rostand’s underlying play – often taking it in fascinating directions – without augmenting its original spirit. Although those who have previously seen a more traditional rendition of the play will likely get more out of the adaption’s many artful touches, it nonetheless stands on its own as a thrilling piece of theatrical storytelling.

Jamie Lloyd’s stark but stylized staging is focused, seething of coiled energy (I was a big fan of his equally austere revival of Harold Pinter’s Betrayal a few years ago). The production is the work of an auteur who’s in complete command of his vision. Indeed, the play is staged on essentially a bare stage, which allows the play’s explosion of language to paint, viscerally and in exquisite detail, both the relationships and inner lives of its characters. In the title role, film star James McAvoy gives a brooding yet high octane performance. There’s a raw, restless quality to his performance that commandingly drives the explosive emotional palette of the production; the rest of the diverse cast – who are all exceptional – seem to be just along for the ride with McAvoy’s swaggering rock star of a Cyrano.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

CYRANO DE BERGERAC
Off-Broadway, Play
The Jaimie Lloyd Company at the Brooklyn Academy of Music‘s Harvey Theater
2 hours, 45 minutes (with one intermission)
Through May 22