About the Play:

HARD TO FIND BOOK, only a very limited number of copies are still available.

Cyrano de Bergerac is a classic romantic comedy by Edmond Rostand in an English prose translation by John Murrell. This ageless masterpiece is a great romantic swashbuckler: funny, dreadful, thrilling. It is THE classic tale of unrequited love – the secret of the imposing, poetic, fearsome and famously big-nosed title character. Duels and battles mix with love poetry under the moon.

Edmond Rostand's beloved classic, Cyrano de Bergerac, has fascinated and enchanted generations. Not since 1938 has there been a more readable or stageable prose translation of this classic favourite. With a rich tapestry of gallant soldiers, starving poets, musketeers, marquises, and bluestockings, Cyrano de Bergerac moves along with a fast-paced plot and a cast of delightful major and minor characters. At its heart is the chivalrous and intelligent Cyrano, masterful soldier, accomplished poet, ferocious orator, chivalrous lover…and the possessor of an extraordinary nasal appendage! It's a period piece, but the message of self-acceptance in Cyrano de Bergerac still applies.

Cyrano de Bergerac was an instant success when it was performed in Paris in 1897, and it soon became one of the most famous French plays of all time. The translation by John Murrell premiered in 1993 at the Citadel Theatre's Schoctor Stage in Edmonton and won Outstanding Production in the seventh annual Sterling Awards.

Cast: 5 female, 12 male, plus many minor characters

What people say:

"[Cyrano de Bergerac is a] brilliant … unforgettable … impressive achievement…." — Edmonton Journal

"The original was written in French verse, but Theatre in the Rough's version is a prose translation written by John Murrell, [that] provides modern audiences more direct access to the story. Murrell's translation was also chosen for its humor and wit." — Juneau Empire

About the Playwrights:

Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand (1869 to 1918) was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism, and is best known for his play Cyrano de Bergerac. Rostand's romantic plays provided an alternative to the naturalistic theatre popular during the late nineteenth century. Another of Rostand's works, Les Romanesques, was adapted to the musical comedy, The Fantasticks.

John Murrell (1945-2019) is one of Canada's best known international playwrights. His dramas focus on real people and cultural icons. His plays have been translated into 15 languages and produced in more than 35 countries around the world. He headed the Banff Playwright's Colony and the Theatre Section of the Canada Council, was Associate Director of the Stratford Festival and Artistic Director of the Banff Centre for the Arts, and is a multiple Chalmers Award winner. For his enormous contributions to the arts in his adopted province and country, the Texas-born Murrell received the Alberta Order of Excellence and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada.