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The Royal Shakespeare Company‘s production of “Cyrano de Bergerac” is heading to London’s West End, with Adrian Lester returning in the title role for a limited summer engagement.
The show will play the Noël Coward Theatre from June 13 through Sept. 5. The transfer follows the production’s well-received run at the RSC’s Stratford-upon-Avon home last year.
Simon Evans, who helms the production, has created a fresh adaptation of Edmond Rostand’s classic alongside co-writer Debris Stevenson. Susannah Fielding will reprise her performance as Roxane opposite Lester’s Cyrano, with additional casting still to come.
The mounting is a collaboration between Wessex Grove, Gavin Kalin Productions and the RSC at the Delfont Mackintosh-operated venue.
“Simon Evans and I have been working on this project for years, well before the brilliant and incredibly supportive RSC collaborated with us to make it happen,” Lester said. “I am so happy to be stepping back into the role of Cyrano in order to bring this playful and poignant production to more audiences in the West End.”
The Olivier Award-winning actor praised the adaptation’s approach, calling it “hilariously funny and desperately moving in equal parts.”
Evans and Stevenson described their version as exploring “the courage it takes to say what you mean, plainly and bravely.”
“At the heart of it all is Adrian Lester, whose extraordinary combination of gentleness, playfulness, and ferocity is utterly captivating,” they said. “We’re incredibly proud to bring this production to the West End, and to share it with new audiences.”
The creative ensemble includes Grace Smart handling set and costume design, Joshie Harriette on lighting, Alex Baranowski composing music, and Donato Wharton designing sound. Sarita Piotrowski serves as movement director, with Bethan Clark choreographing fights and intimacy. Rebecca Latham is dramaturg for the RSC, and Matthew Dewsbury CDG handles casting.
Lester’s extensive stage credits include “Henry V” and “Othello” at the National Theatre, “Company” at the Donmar Warehouse and West End, and “The Lehman Trilogy” on Broadway. Fielding previously appeared in RSC’s “The Merchant of Venice” and won the Ian Charleson Award in 2014.
Evans’ directing work includes the RTS award-winning BBC series “Staged,” which he also wrote and starred in. Stevenson is a playwright and Grime-poet whose works include “Poet in Da Corner” at the Royal Court.
English (US) ·