James McAvoy stuns in Cyrano!

The Hollywood star makes a triumphant return to the London stage

Following on from his highly acclaimed year-long residency at the Harold Pinter theatre (including critical darling Betrayal), director Jamie Lloyd begins his Playhouse tenue with aplomb with this brand new Cyrano de Bergerac, adapted and updated by Martin Crimp. Starring James McAvoy, the show opened this weekend to a uniformly positive array of reviews from the papers.

McAvoy's central performance as the lovelorn Cyrano, the usually big-nosed would-be suitor to the oblivious Roxanne who uses pal Christian as a proxy for his love letters, was hailed by the Evening Standard as "stunningly powerful" and"(a) piece of pure theatre, the most breathtakingly exciting show in London right now." Alongside, Michael Billington for The Guardian praised his "fierce" performance in the "radical reboot" concluding that: "Lloyd's production makes you see an old play with fresh eyes".

It's fairly safe to say that Jamie Lloyd is onto yet another winner - as if we'd ever doubt him!

What is the story?

The ultimate ode to unrequited love, Cyrano De Bergerac is a famed and talented soldier in the French Army - who moonlights as a passionate poet. In love with the intellectual beauty Roxanne, but too ashamed to admit it due to his enormous nose, he agrees to write to her as another - Christian, her beloved. As time goes on the task proves too much for the entranced Cyrano, taxing him to find his courage and confess to being the author of the letters that have bewitched her. Romantic, expressive and a pean to bravery and self-confidence, don't miss the chance to let classic woo you all over again.