Thursday 13 June, 2:00pm
The Sainsbury Theatre, LAMDA
Running Time:
2 hours 30 minutes plus a 15 minute interval
Content warnings:
Contains strong language, swearing, gunfire, injury and blood. References to death and war.
• You are welcome to come and go from the theatre as you need
• There is a break-out room available, the Rittner Room
• House lighting is on low throughout, never going to full black-out
• Loud noises are reduced in sound level
• No strobe lighting is used
• You are welcome to react to the show however you may need
• At the end of this document is a show synopsis/sensory guide
Here is a guide to sensory information symbols in this document:
Indicates potentially loud or sudden noises
Indicates bright or sudden lighting changes
Indicates a sad or potentially distressing scene
Indicates fighting, or use of guns/weapons
When you arrive at LAMDA, the box office is to your right. You should pick up your ticket here, using your name.
Toilets are located right next to box office.
LAMDA staff will be wearing LAMDA branded T-Shirts or lanyards. If you need any assistance whilst in the building, please ask them.
This is the Theatre Foyer. You may be asked to wait here until the house is open. You will be shown how to get to the Sainsbury Theatre by an usher.
This performance will take place in the Sainsbury Theatre. This is the entrance.
When you enter the theatre, an Usher will take your ticket from you. You are welcome to sit where you like.
You can come and go from the space wheneveryou like. The house lights will stay on low throughout the show.
If you aren’t sure at any point during your visit where to go, please ask an usher.
There is a break-out space called ‘The Rittner Room’ which you are welcome to use at any point during the performance. It can be accessed via the stairs or lift in the main entrance foyer.
Before the show begins, the actors will introduce themselves and the characters they are playing.
The lights in the theatre will dim and she show will start. You can come and go as you need through the doors you entered by.
At the end of the show the actors will come on and bow. You are welcome to clap at this point if you would like.
Below is a sensory guide for the performance that shows potential distressing actions in the play, split up by scenes
During the act changes throughout the play, there is loud music. There is strong language in each scene.
At the start of the scene, the music swells and Cyrano is panting and looks out of breath Lignière is telling Christian who various people are around Paris. He explains who de Guiche is and that he’s a powerful and misogynistic man Lignière writes about him anonymously, saying that he would be killed if de Guiche knew it was him.
As Montfleury starts their performance, there is a sudden lighting change - it goes dark with just a spotlight
Cyrano is shouting from offstage
All of the audience on stage start chanting ‘Montfleury’ and ‘Am-Let’ which is very loud Valvert and Cyrano get into an argument and there are raised voices
Valvert challenges Cyrano and they have a battle - their fight is with words and not physical. They use threatening language . Underscoring the fight is classical music which is fast and intense Cyrano ‘stabs’ Valvert - there is no physical fighting in the play, but he acts wounded Cyrano tells Le Bret that he’s in love with Roxane - Le Bret shouts at him to ‘get in there’
Lignière comes in and is drunk - as he gives his speech there is tense underscoring music that gets tenser and louder as it continues. Lignière is telling Cyrano that De Guiche has sent for Lignière to be killed as he’s defamed De Guiche and that there are 100 men to get him.
Loud music in the scene change Cyrano meets up with Roxane. He is upset that she is in love with Christian, not him
A group of soldiers appear and they all are cheering and shouting Cyrano’s name, which is loud
Cyrano gives a speech to Le Bret, during which he is getting angrier and louder Christian is being disruptive and rude to Cyrano - Cyrano is getting angrier and louder until he screams at all of the soldiers and student writers to get out
They come back and all start insulting his nose
As Cyrano and Christian are talking together, there is music underneath that adds to the tension
As Cyrano is pretending to be Christian when speaking to Roxane, all of the lights on stage go off
Roxane receives a letter from De Guiche - it is threatening to her if she doesn’t go and meet him to have sex
Roxane pretends that Christian was assaulting her and that she doesn’t want to marry him The Priest says that once they’re married it won’t be assault. Roxane shouts for him to not touch her. Roxane asks for Cyrano to waylay De Guiche. The lights turn to red and Cyrano wraps the microphone cables around his face to pretend to be an ‘alien’.
De Guiche thinks he is a ‘mad man’. There is music underneath making this part of the scene feel uneasy.
De Guiche realises that Roxane has outsmarted him and tells the officers to seize Christian - he threatens to shoot Christian if he doesn’t go to war straight away.
The music builds towards the end of the Act.
The start of the scene starts in darkness. There is a lot of physical movement from the soldiers who are ‘dying’ in battle. The soldiers are all extremely parched and rationing their water - De Guiche knocks a bottle out of a soldier’s hand as he refuses to drink. There is a sudden lighting change as a gunshot is heard
There is lots of shouting as they think there is a bomb - it is Roxane and Leila appearing
Later in the scene there is a drone like noise that underscores the scene between Roxane, Christian and Cyrano Cyrano holds onto Roxane’s wrist too tightly and is hurting her.
There is a sudden lighting change as gunfire starts It intensifies and the lighting changes throughout this too
Le Bret shouts for Cyrano to get Roxane out of the area.
A soldier rolls down the stage, injured and likely dead. We realise that it is Christian.
Roxane is shouting and screaming that Christian is dead.
There is more gunfire as the sound of the battle intensifies.
Lignière tells Leila about what has happened to Cyrano - tense beating music is in the background
Cyrano is in silhouette at the back of the stageLignière says that Cyrano has been stabbed which we see in his movement
Cyrano comes to the cafe to see Roxane - he eventually tells her that it was him who wrote the letters
Roxane is extremely upset and angry about this and shouts at Cyrano
Cyrano falls to the floor
He gets back to his feet as he says his final poem - he staggers during this as he’s very weak from being stabbed
Cyrano falls back to the floor - at the end of the scene he dies and there is a blackout.