What a hoot-er! Cyrano de Bergerac famously had a very large nose. That’s both the historical figure and his portrayal in Rostand’s often adapted 1897 play. And so she has here, even if in this fast-paced version there’s no prosthesis. The nose is only in our imaginations, encouraged by the clever wordplay that kicks the show off. In a piece that’s quite a lot about words, we soon also feel the strength and beauty of Cyrano’s poetic gifts. Virginia Gay’s sharp and funny version is here given good production values and spot-on direction. Brilliant one-liners, including from an excellent ‘chorus’, crowd one upon another, so don’t let your attention drift, even for a moment, in this top Traverse show.

Traverse Theatre, until 25 Aug.
tw rating 5/5 | [Alan Cranston]