Cyrano De Bergerac 

Martin Crimp’s bold adaptation of a classic story directed by Jackson Gay.

A contemporary take on the age-old issues of patriarchal roles, gender fluidity, beauty, love and war. This version is told through the lens of actors putting on a play until war takes away their poetry and their hope for a more beautiful future. This immersive design tells the story in the round and highlights the architecture of the African Grove Theater to surround the audience in this war and remind us all that similar impossible circumstances lay just outside it’s doors.

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The lighting in this show begins as a play on the world of the theater with immersive lighting of the architecture and a spot light that follows the action and introduces each character. The lighting grid is unmasked and part of the scenery to create a backdrop for each environment and remind the viewer of the theater. This is reversed in Act 4 when the war changes everything. The characters face increasingly existential questions as they lose the ability to put any facade or theatrics on the horrors of war. A powerful light shines directly behind the visible electrics to create a massive and haunting shadow on the floor below. Turning this once beautiful and theatrical lighting gesture into a cruel and unrelenting shadow over the players where it remains for the final two acts.