CYRANO. Noel Coward Theatre

SOLDIERING AND SACRIFICE . This is one of the RSC’s big hitters: five stars everywhere ,and promoted more as comedy than the romantic-chivalric classic it is, Rostand’s 19c tragic epic in hexamers, set in Franco-Spanish wars of the 17c. So, having missed the press night of this adaptation (by Simon Evans and the poet Debris Stevenson), I bought a proper ticket. Can’t miss Adrian Lester, even with the famous Cyrano false nose – and it’s always good to check how these acclaimed shows actually feel from the cheapest seats. I can report that actually the sightlines are fine , once the framing meta-theatrical horseplay of side boxes and a theatre manager searching for Cyrano are past (all amusing enoigh).And it’s the RSC, they are all beautifully audible. So sit anywhere. Just do: for Adrian Lester is one of our great 21c theatrical giants, and holds the stage through every scene, from first swagger and banter, through formidable depths of feeling, all the way to his last words. Epic…