MTC presents CYRANO, a gender-flipped musical adaptation by Virginia Gay

Virginia Gay ups the ante with a gender-flipped, music-filled take on Cyrano de Bergerac.Packed with joy, wit and aching romance, Cyrano will make its world premiere on Thursday 5 August at Southbank Theatre.

Following the wild success of Calamity Jane, Gay gives us a delightfully self-aware theatrical love letter for our times, freely adapted from Edmond Rostand’s literary classic.

Directed by Sarah Goodes (Home, I’m Darling), the production is written by and starring Virginia Gay (Vivid White), alongside Holly Austin (Miss Fisher & The Crypt of Tears), Robin Goldsworthy (This Much Is True), Milo Hartill (Guerilla Sabbath), Claude Jabbour (Eden) and Tuuli Narkle (Sunshine Super Girl).

Virginia Gay said:

I am utterly thrilled to be bringing Cyrano to MTC. I wrote it in high lockdown in LA, where I went months without touching another human being, and I created it specifically for Melbourne – I thought we all deserved a reward for getting through these dark times. It’s filled with joy and hope and music and so many laughs – celebrating the very thing we haven’t been able to do for so long – coming together in a theatre. It’s magic, that. Cyrano is the story of a terrific, sparkling human being carefully, tenderly coming out of isolation, and the courage and hope and the collective act of community it takes to do that.’

Cyrano is the most interesting person in any room – a wordsmith, a charmer, a ruthless fighter. She works twice as hard and runs twice as fast as any of the pretty boys, because she’s deeply ashamed of something about herself. She’s fallen hard for Roxanne, the brilliant, beautiful new girl in town with a penchant for poetry and a way with words. Just like Cyrano. But Roxanne’s only got eyes for Yan: hot, manly Yan; all-brawn-and-no brains Yan, who’s dumbstruck around Roxanne – probably shy, right? Until suddenly he starts saying the most amazing things. But it’s not Yan writing these perfect love scenes, it’s Cyrano…

Virginia Gay is a graduate of WAAPA. Her theatre credits include Vivid White, Minnie & Liraz, The Beast and On The Production of Monsters (Melbourne Theatre Company); and Gaybies(Darlinghurst Theatre Company); Calamity Jane (One Eyed Man Productions); The Wharf Revue(Sydney Theatre Company); Cautionary Tales For Children (Arena); High Society (Hayes Theatre); Mame (Neglected Musicals); The Producers, Jerry’s Girls (The Production Company) and La Clique (Famous Spiegeltent – Leicester Square). In addition to writing Cyrano she’s also written a new play, The Boomkak Panto, which will premiere in December at Belvoir, and which she will also co-direct. Her film credits include Mirrah Foulkes’ Judy & Punch (Sundance); and she wrote and directed the short film Paper Cut (Tropfest 2018). Her television credits include being a series regular on All Saints and Winners & Losers; team captain on CRAM! (10); ABC Book Club(ABC); Good News Week (10); In Gordon St Tonight (ABC). Virginia won a Sydney Theatre Award for her role in Calamity Jane.  

Script development of Cyrano by Virginia Gay (after Edmond Rostand) has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, Sydney Festival and the NSW Government through Create NSW and the City of Melbourne COVID-19 Arts Grants.

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Tickets and more information are available at mtc.com.au