DEBORAH McAndrew’s new adaptation of Cyrano makes its swashbuckling entry to York Theatre Royal on Tuesday as the first production of Northern Broadsides’ 25th anniversary year.

The Halifax company with the exuberant performance style has joined creative forces with the New Vic Theatre to present Edmond Rostand’s tale of unrequited love in the golden age of musketeers, under the direction of Broadsides’ Conrad Nelson.

In Paris, in 1640, the brilliant poet and swordsman Cyrano de Bergerac finds himself deeply in love with his beautiful cousin Roxane. Each day of his life is lived only for her: every poem he writes, every duel he fights. Yet Cyrano is afraid of revealing his true feelings, certain she could never love him in return on account of his prodigious proboscis.

Out go the rhyming couplets of Rostand’s 1897 work; in comes a contemporary combination of prose and poetry, wherein McAndrew marries the vibrancy of youth with the romance and classicism of the original. Broadsides debutant Christian Edwards leads the company as Cyrano, while Broadsides newcomer Sharon Singh plays Roxane.

“Doing Cyrano has been in the Broadsides ether for a while; Conrad has wanted to direct it, and I’ve always loved the story; it’s an unalloyed delight,” says Deborah. “I remember Morecambe and Wise larking about with big noses in 1977 with Penelope Keith; then the Steve Martin film, Roxanne, came out in the Eighties, with the changed ending, and there was the wonderful Gerard Depardieu film in 1990. It was ravishing and there’s no other word for it.

York Press:

Christian Edwards in his Northern Broadsides debut as Cyrano. "The play has that Parisian feel; wine and cheese; that appetite for life," says playwright Deborah McAndrew. Picture: Nobby Clark

“For this new adaptation, I’ve left the setting in France in the 17th century because you can’t improve on that, but Roxane’s part is much greater in this version. The play has that Parisian feel; wine and cheese; that appetite for life; it’s very sexy, and I don’t think modernising it would have helped.”

Conrad had played the dastardly De Guiche in a radio adaptation "about 18 months, two years ago, when I thought, 'this would be great story for Northern Broadsides to do". "It's such a jolly romp, there's a great journey for the actors, particularly for Cyrano, whose journey is immense," says the director. "The physical dexterity that's required; the weight of what he's called to do...what we didn't want was that 'strange uncle' relationship with Roxane; the 50-year-old man and the 23-year-old young woman. But it's not a story about an old man's love, it's about young or youthful love. Cyrano is 35-36 and our production has that youthful feel to it."

Deborah's adaptation may run to close on three hours but it never drags. "The five acts are basically five long scenes, so it takes a wonderfully exhilarating journey through the story, starting in the theatre, where he's this very honourable character, who has all the attributes but has that big nose...," says Conrad.

What Broadsides' production so thrillingly conveys is the effect that love has on us. "We all know that love is at its most exciting when your brain and your heart are engaged," says Conrad. "It's very hard to find someone attractive who doesn't stimulate you in lots of ways. I couldn't go out with someone who I didn't think was talented or had ability that I admired, and I think we're all like that.

"The big nose gets in Cyrano's way, but it's more his barrier than anyone else's, and a lot of people like our Cyrano, big nose or not. It's ultimately a really heartwarming story and that may sound a cliché but it's true."

Cyrano's dying words are "My panache", and what panache there is in Broadsides' Cyrano. "He talks of his honour, his panache, his joy of life, his poetry, and at the centre of it all he's this honourable man," says Conrad. "He makes his declaration of independence and freedom; he's a maverick, who exists singularly above the law; he's anti-establishment of course, and that will kill him in the end."

Cyrano runs at Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, until Saturday, 7.30pm, except tonight at 7pm; York Theatre Royal, April 11 to 15, 7.30pm, no performance on Good Friday. Box office: Scarborough, 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com; York, 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk