Adrian Lester is ‘magnificent’ in great night of theatre

Noel Coward Theatre

Following rave reviews for its opening in Stratford, the RSC production of Cyrano de Bergerac is greeted in the West End with even more acclaim. The critics loved the funny and heartbreaking modern verse adaptation (‘terrific’ LondonTheatre) by director Simon Evans and poet Debris Stevenson and praised the cast led by Adrian Lester (‘emotional depth’ Times), Susannah Fielding (‘charisma’ Stage) and Levi Brown (‘winning charm’ WhatsOnStage). All the reviewers had a good night out watching the witty, poetic, self-loathing Cyrano woo the woman he loves on behalf of someone more handsome than himself.

[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]

5 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑

Matt Wolf for LondonTheatre found: ‘I’m here to report that Lester is the best warrior-wooer I’ve come across since Derek Jacobi brought this same character to the Barbican late in 1983’. More than that: ‘One of the abiding strengths of the production from Simon Evans – working from a terrific new script that he has fashioned with the poet-activist Debris Stevenson – is how generously it sees all this play’s characters in the round. Susannah Fielding’s Roxane – the object of Cyrano’s passion not to mention this wordsmith’s celebrated pen – is no simpering bystander, but a woman possessed of agency and vibrancy’.

Holly O’Mahony, reviewing for Time Out, was entranced by Adrian Lester: ‘Rarely does limerence sound as achingly beautiful as when he describes his feelings for Roxane – and rarely do rhyming couplets sound as sexy as when coming from his mouth.’ She noted: ‘It’s a clever trick of Evans’ production that, after we’ve heard the overwhelming swell of Cyrano’s feelings for her, Susannah Fielding’s Roxane is in fact quite different to his description: sardonically chipper, with girl-next-door energy. And in not giving us Roxane as seen through her admirer’s eyes, we understand just how emphatically Cyrano has romanticised her.’

Speaking of the scriptwriters, Alex Wood for WhatsOnStage said of the scriptwriters: ‘like their protagonist, the pair produce an effortlessly disarming and fleet-footed script with far more bubbling beneath the surface than initially meets the eye. Set against the backdrop of the bloody Franco-Spanish War, it is a meditation on mortality, of life lost and love never relinquished, even after death.’ He turned to the cast: ‘Susannah Fielding bringing tireless wit and refreshing verve to Roxane, a woman stung by the memory of a shackling marriage and now desperately seeking liberation. Her howling final monologue as she reveals the truth underneath her forfeited life is chill-inducing. Levi Brown has winning charm as the provincial heartthrob Christian (…) Any show has to live or die by the nose-sporting poet, and Adrian Lester delivers his best performance in donkeys’ years as Cyrano, at times playfully camp, other times sardonically steely as the tragic hero.’

Claire Allfree for the Telegraph observed: ‘Lester, who wears a prosthetic nose, in keeping with the production’s flirtation with pantomime, is in his element here. His verse-speaking is a delight: he is entirely at home with the cut and thrust of Rostand’s serrated lyricism. Everywhere he subtly reveals the disconnect between public and private self – a feared and lauded warrior, in the flesh he moves almost clumsily; positively obnoxious and sneering towards his fellow soldiers, he is consumed with ugly self-loathing.’

Ben Dowell for The Times described Adrian Lester: ‘Combining astonishing physicality (he’s 57) with emotional depth, he is cocky and agile, but his agonies about his physical ugliness feel wholly sincere and build relentlessly towards a devastating denouement. Even as he struts around at the start, fencing with both words and sword, you still sense a man closely guarding acute vulnerabilities.’ He concluded with the conclusion of the play (spoiler alert): ‘the ticket price is worth it for the tragic final 20 minutes alone, when Cyrano becomes unstuck and Roxane realises too late who penned those words of love. His speech becomes halting and words fail him while she speaks with exquisite transcendence before he disappears into a garden of soft pastel hues, taken to the unknown by his boyhood self. Stripped away, the pain dissolves to nothing. I’ve rarely seen anything as heartbreaking.’

4 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑

The Standard‘s Nick Curtis declared: ‘Adrian Lester is magnificent as the big-nosed, big-hearted soldier-bard in this witty and unbearably moving (play) … Director Simon Evans and writer Debris Stevenson … embrace the theatricality of the drama and also warmly embrace the audience in way that’s light years away from the National’s current, self-consciously “meta” Misanthrope. Their lyrical, music-laced adaptation cleverly but unobtrusively gives each major character a different poetic metre to speak. It also addresses and partially redresses the misogyny of the original’. Why not five stars? ‘The only serious flaw is a certain bagginess and stateliness of pace.’

Cindy Marcolina for BroadwayWorld pointed out: ‘Evans grounds it back to its roots in an open-hearted celebration of emotion, language, and empathy.’ She was pleased with the adaptation: ‘The poetic rhythm of the play is simply exquisite, seamlessly flowing from verse to prose. The visuals are as much of a treat. Evans spreads the action, using up the vastness of the Noël Coward stage with a stout set design by Grace Smart.’ She concluded: ‘The performances are notable, the writing is stunning, and the direction is tight. What’s not to love?’

Tom Wicker for The Stage said: ‘(the) play sweeps into the West End in an intoxicating rush of romance and with a giddy love of language that spills off the stage.’ He described Adrian Lester as ‘magnificent’ and said Susannah Fielding ‘has charisma to spare’.

Critics’ average rating 4.6⭑

Value score 49 (typical price vs average rating)

Cyrano de Bergerac can be seen at the Noel Coward theatre until 5 September 2026. Buy tickets directly from the theatre 

Read Paul Seven’s 5-star review of Cyrano de Bergerac here

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