Cyrano de Bergerac, by Edmond Rostand

Written by Edmond Rostand and first performed in 1897, Cyrano de Bergerac remains to this day one of the most famous French plays. Through its five acts in alexandrines, it intertwines the lives of Cyrano, Roxane and Christian in an illustrious love triangle. The ugly Cyrano loves his beautiful cousin Roxane, who falls in love with the handsome but simple Christian. Despite loving her in return, the man does not have the wit to charm her. Cyrano, self-conscious about the big nose that disfigures him, offers the naive Christian to help him woo Roxane: this pact will draw them both into a tragic love story where the sincerity of their feelings mingles with the lie of their ploy. Roxane thus loves Christian for his looks and, through him, Cyrano’s sublime intellect.

Come witness the unravelling of this spectacular story where sword duels and verbal jousts are followed by declarations of love in the darkness of a balcony, and which retains the very word Rostand attributed to his hero: an imperishable panache. The play will be performed by students from The French Society of the University of St Andrews.