Cyrano De Bergerac at Noël Coward Theatre

Having beguiled audiences and critics in Stratford-upon-Avon last year, the RSC’s acclaimed production of Cyrano de Bergerac arrives in London for a limited run at the Noël Coward Theatre this summer. This new version of the classic 19^th-century French play by Edmond Rostand, from director Simon Evans and co-writer Debris Stevenson, refines the verse while giving the overall tone a modern verve. Above all, it is Adrian Lester’s stellar lead performance that propels the audience through this tragic tale of wit, wooing and war.

The eponymous hero is at the height of his notoriety: poet, philosopher, unsurpassed duellist and galvanising soldier. However, this rabble-rousing raconteur still receives disrespect for his very prominent nose. This insecurity makes him feel unsuited to courtship, especially that of his childhood sweetheart, Roxane (Susannah Fielding). When she reveals to him in secret that she has fallen for the dashing cadet Christian de Neuvillette (Levi Brown), and Cyrano discovers the youth’s hapless ways, he reluctantly decides to write letters on his behalf to woo her. The truth of this letter-bound tryst is tested when the threat of war looms.

While this adaptation of the tragic romance wears its heart on its frilly cuff, it is rarely precious about it. Christian Patterson’s sweet Ragueneau opens proceedings like a warm embrace, but meta-asides involving Cyrano’s ever-present band (Josh Sneesby, Lizzie May Bell, Joe Butcher, Rachel Dawson, Olivier Grant and Fergus Murphy) inject a welcome strain of satire. Alex Baranowski’s tender compositions are not spared, repeatedly interrupted by an impatient Cyrano. The same informality shapes the production’s aesthetic. Grace Smart’s restrained classical and contemporary-inflected set design and costumes, with Evans’ unfussy direction, favour clarity over spectacle. Further emphasised by the actors’ frequent incursions into the stalls, the effect is to keep our focus firmly on the characterisation and the language.

And what language! The verbosity and rhythm in Stevenson and Evans’s adaptation is its own love letter to Renaissance verse, delivered with a modern sensibility by much of the cast. Fielding offers an arch but emotionally attuned interpretation of Roxane, while Brown leans into earnest, simple-minded exuberance. But once Lester hits the stage, you cannot take your eyes off him. His verbal and physical acuity are sublime: he cuts through scenes with his mastery of the verse as deftly as he does with his rapier. Watch, though, as his sharp, self-protecting swagger melts into childlike beaming when confronted with the possibility of love. It is a truly terrific performance, varying from aggrandisement to loathing, and it becomes especially devastating at the play’s denouement.

While clocking in at nearly three hours, the production’s shift in tone from the hijinks of the first half to the sobriety of the second keeps the audience thoroughly engaged throughout. Cyrano de Bergerac achieves something rare: it rejoices in the beauty of words and their ability to strike, to seduce and to soothe the heart.