This is London Magazine July Edition 2026 - Flipbook - Page 54
Photos: Marc Brenner.
54
CYRANO DE BERGERAC
Noël Coward Theatre
Beautifully tragic and faultlessly
funny, director Simon Evans and Debris
Stevenson's co-adaptation of Cyrano de
Bergerac is a tale of love, loss, and
looks. Originally written by Edmond
Rostand, premiering in Paris in 1897 but
set in the 17th-century, the action of this
play unfolds around the titular character
being the handsome Christian de
Neuvillette's romantic ghostwriter in his
pursuit of Roxane, with Cyrano feeling
unable to voice his own love for her
because of (of all things) his nose.
Adrian Lester (pictured) stars with
acting that seamlessly navigates his
trademark verbose monologues,
exemplifying the wit of Cyrano in the
delivery of each line. Susannah Fielding
and Levi Brown form the other points of
the central love triangle, with Fielding's
portrayal of Roxane powerfully
representing a strong female who can
independently manage her life in a maledominated world, and Brown's
embodiment of Christian perfectly
endearing despite his tongue-tied nature.
Everything within this play feels like a
proactive choice by its creatives, from
the looming sculpture of the tree which
observes some of the play's saddest
moments, to the haunting steps of
young Cyrano which punctuate the
passing of time with each footfall. The
imaginative use of music throughout
sees the band not behind the scenes but
centre stage, actively following Cyrano
and acting as much as a fictional plot
device as that of the play itself.
Cyrano de Bergerac is at once
brilliantly outlandish in its comedy,
blending bawdy 17th-century style
humour with modern profanity, and
deeply tragic. It feels almost like two
different plays before and after the
interval, the first a comedy and the
second a tragedy, with more than one
member of the audience crying by the
curtain call (myself included.)
Watching the dynamic play out
between the three protagonists, we are
brought to question the import of
superficial things, from noses to letters.
This version of the play proves its topic
to be timeless, relevant as much in the
play's 17th century setting as in our
modern day, emphatically marking it
deserving of a West End revival.
Olive Jenkins
GREASE – AS TOLD BY SECRET
CINEMA
Each performance of Grease: The
Immersive Movie Musical is a two hour
and fifteen minutes spectacular taking
place at Evolution London in Battersea
Park. From ‘Summer Nights’ to ‘Greased
Lightnin’ to ‘We Go Together’, every
song from the beloved 1978 Paramount
Pictures film comes to life, as a knockout cast and live band perform against
multiple movie screens.
From the moment they enter this
modern live experience, audiences step
into the world of the movie, exploring
locations including Frosty Palace, The
Autoshop, and The Carnival and
immerse themselves in school spirit,
training with Coach Calhoun, cheering
on the T-Birds, taking part in a choir
practice and even tasting 1950’s
American diner-style delights.
Secret Cinema (Merritt Baer, Artistic
Director and Producer; Ben Hosford,
Executive Producer) is a UK-based
entertainment company that exists to
make people feel like they’re part of
something bigger. Secret Cinema creates
moments of collective awe through
theatrical experiences, because feeling
part of something bigger strengthens
communities.
Across 17 years, Secret Cinema has
curated over 70 productions reigniting
fandom for over 1.5 million audience
members across the globe, allowing
people to step out of the everyday and
straight into the worlds of the silver
screen.
T H I S I S L O N D O N M A G A Z I N E • T H I S I S L O N D O N O N L I N E • w w w. t i l . c o m • @ t h i s i s l o n d o n m a g
