Hot on the heels of Sport for Jove’s epic and excellent production
of ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’ only late last year, it was a bold move by STC to
program it into their 2014 season. But with Richard Roxburgh and Ryan Corr
(later ‘unavailable’ and replaced by Chris Ryan), it felt like it was a risk
that should pay off and indeed, they were right.
The problems with this play aren’t in this production as
much as they are inherent in the play itself, even with the much needed edits. Spoiler
alert: let’s go to the ending. Why do we feel disappointed by it? Is it because
we want a happy ending (not in a sleazy massage kind of way but one that rewards duty and love) or is it that even at the end, when Cyrano could confess
his feelings for Roxanne, he looks outward and not inward and we feel cheated for
her as much as for him? Or is it that the death scene feels far too long and
stilted? Whatever the case, it feels like something is missing in ‘Cyrano’.
But what isn’t missing is the sense of fun imbued throughout
this manly adventure of courage, convictions, loyalty and love. Director Andrew
Upton has given us an active and playful rendition of Rostand’s play (tweaked
by Upton and Marion Potts in adaptation), complete with an Australian flavour
of language and phrase.
Roxburgh (Cyrano) is equal parts mischievous saviour,
romantic hero and intellectual elitist. He is filled with the crippling self-doubts
that we are all in danger of feeding and yet his steadfast love for Roxane
(Eryn Jean Norvill), make him both admirable and frustrating. Cyrano as a
character will not allow himself to tread softly upon the world and instead
kicks at it as much as he can because he can never succumb to the vulnerability of love and possible rejection and it hardens him. It is no wonder that he makes enemies from the
start and Roxburgh makes us love Cyrano as well as want to lecture him, as does
his best friend, Le Bret (Yalin Ozucelik- who played Cyrano in the Sport for
Jove production).
The cast is well-assembled and there are plenty of moments
to shine. Alan Dukes as Montfleury
ham-acting and swinging across the stage, Dale March’s sword-play arrogance as
Valvert, Julia Zemiro’s comic timing as Duenna, Chris Ryan’s Christian, the dumbstruck
lover , David Whitney as poet Ragueneau and the Ode to Almond Tarts, Norvill as
word-obsessed Roxane or Bruce Spence as drunkard Ligniere all offered a great
support to Roxburgh and stepped up to match him in energy and intensity. But
Josh McConville brought a little something more than that as De Guiche in
finding the commedia, starting like an Il Capitano, transitioning into a courageous soldier and leader and then finishing in stark realism. It shows McConville has great range and
formidable skill.
Alice Babidge has created a story book set that allows us to
close the curtain on each act like a grandiose play until eventually, we are
stripped of the trappings of the stage, the leaves have fallen on our autumn, the space is bare and black and we wait for the inevitable
denouement. Babidge’s costumes are just as grand, contrasting the scruffy rogue
of Cyrano with the pomposity of the elite, making it even easier for us to
identify with the common man who will give his pay for the sake of art but like a version
of the Robin Hood story, never look to take advantage of those below him.
Damien Cooper's lights are almost a character in this play too. The images created in the shafts of directed light that heighten tension, space and the emotions of the play are a visual feast of ideas. As the stage segue ways from war into fourteen years later, a trick of leaves with a complete transition of lights, leaving Roxane on stage, front and centre, is a powerful metaphor for the woman who is left in the light, a tiny shaft of light, whilst the rest of her world has gone dark.
Cyrano is our underdog and perhaps that’s why we want more
from its ending. But the production does the best it can with the stakes it’s
been given. Sometimes it's a little clunky and sometimes deliciously naughty, 'Cyrano de Bergerac' delivers a message about superficiality and surprisingly, it is most damning of
the presumption of it more than the reality.
STC’s ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’ is a fine production of this play
and is sure to keep its audience happy.
No comments:
Post a Comment