Stephen Rea’s Cyrano Opens at London’s National April 19

By James Inverne
and Andrew Gans
April 19, 2004

It’s been over five years since the last big London production of Cyrano de Bergerac closed, when Anthony Sher donned the nose putty in Greg Doran’s Royal Shakespeare Company production. But the National Theatre is to open their new Cyrano April 19, with Stephen Rea, of "The Crying Game" fame, in the lead.

Rea stars in the title role of Derek Mahon's new translation of the Edmond Rostand classic about a physically unappealing swordsman, poet and philosopher who tries to win the affections of his beautiful cousin Roxane. Directed by Howard Davies, the company also features Claire Price as Roxane, Anthony O’Donnell as Ragueneau, Malcolm Storry as De Guiche and Zubin Varla as Christian.

Cyrano, which plays the National's Olivier Theatre, is a limited engagement due to end June 24. The ensemble includes Thomas Arnold, Stephen Berkeley-White, Mark Bonnar, David Collings, Stephen Critchlow, Gildas Diquero, Joanne Fong, Gregory Fox-Murphy, Antonia Grove, Dermot Kerrigan, Pascal Langdale, Miranda Lind, Katherine Manners, Mairead McKinley, Simon Merrells, Katy Odey, Harry Peacock, William Rycroft, Nick Sampson, Karl Sullivan, Trevor Thomas, Daniel Tuite and Tam Ward.

Davies was originally planning an expensive, big spectacle of a Cyrano. However, as NT boss Nick Hytner revealed at a press conference early in 2004, Davies was so enthused by the democratic atmosphere of the Travelex £10 ticket scheme the theatre has put in place that he asked for this show to be part of that season in 2004. Because of the budgetary constraints of making large numbers of seats available at only £10, though, the character of the Cyrano is more pared-down than would otherwise have been the case (which, as previous productions in the Travelex season have shown, does not mean that it will look impoverished).

The creative team for the production comprises William Dudley (set design), John Bright (costume design), Paul Anderson (lighting design), Dominic Muldowney (music), Christopher Bruce (movement and dance), William Hobbs (fight director) and Paul Groothuis (sound design).

Born in Ireland, Stephen Rea made his Broadway debut in Someone Who'll Watch Over Me, earning a Theatre World Award and a Tony nomination for that performance. He earned an Academy Award nomination for his role in "The Crying Game," and his other screen credits include "Princess Caraboo," "Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles," "Pret-a Porter," "Fever Pitch," "Double Tap," "The Musketeer," "FeatdotCom," "Evelyn," "Proud" and "Bloom."

Tickets for Cyrano de Bergerac range from £9-£25. For more information visit the National Theatre's website at www.nt-online.org.