‘Gay brings enormous heart to the show … she is one of our most gifted comedians.’
‘Virginia Gay is unmissable.’
ABOUT THE SHOW
Following the wild success of Calamity Jane, Virginia Gay ups the ante with a gender-flipped, music-filled take on Cyrano de Bergerac packed with joy, wit and aching romance. Freely adapting Edmond Rostand's literary classic, Gay gives us a delightfully self-aware theatrical rom-com for our times.
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 …
With director Sarah Goodes (Home, I’m Darling) at the helm and Virginia Gay (Vivid White, The Beast) in the title role, this is the Cyrano that 2021 deserves: a thoroughly modern love letter to language and desire; to the magic of the theatre; to overcoming shame, loneliness and isolation; and to the hot mess that is the human heart. It's a bold and playful romp, filled with songs, longing and radical hope.
Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) Fund – an Australian Government initiative.
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.
Accessibility
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Wheelchair Accessible
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Hearing Assistance
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Audio Described
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Open Captioning
Performance Type | Performance Date(s) |
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Audio Described
by Vision Australia |
Saturday 21 August at 2pm Tuesday 24 August at 6.30pm |
Open Captioning
via screen |
Saturday 28 August at 2pm |
Cast & Creatives

Holly Austin
3

Virginia Gay
Cyrano

Robin Goldsworthy
2

Milo Hartill
1

Claude Jabbour
Yan

Tuuli Narkle
Roxanne

Sarah Goodes
Director

Xani Kolac
Musical Director & Additional Composition

Elizabeth Gadsby
Set Concept & Design

Jo Briscoe
Costume Designer & Set Design Realisation

Paul Jackson
Lighting Designer

Kelly Ryall
Sound Designer

George Lazaris
Assistant Director

Amelia Baker
Assistant Lighting Designer
Learn more about the show
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Q&A
Costuming Cyrano
Designer Jo Briscoe discusses how costumes communicate character, and practical considerations in costume design.
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Videos
Roxanne’s Kiss
To celebrate Cyrano, MTC partner The Melbourne Gin Company have created Roxanne’s Kiss, a special twist on a classic gin & tonic that you can make at home.
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Features
Melbourne Makers: Xani Kolac
Cyrano is not a musical but it is a show filled with music. The play’s musical director and composer, Xani Kolac, explains the difference – and tells us why this non-musical is also magical.
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Education
Cyrano Education Pack
A resource pack for teachers and students to learn more about the MTC production of Cyrano by Virginia Gay after Edmond Rostand.
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Features
Choral stories
Cyrano’s chorus is a key part of the play’s interrogation of old storytelling tropes. The three chorus members help analyse why we continue to tell old stories, and how we can tell new stories; stories for everybody.
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Videos
Why be a woman?
Playwright and actor Virginia Gay talks about why the title role of Cyrano is perfect for a woman to play.
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Q&A
Meet your Chorus: Robin Goldsworthy
Playing chorus member number 2, a character who is ‘insufferably intense about theatre’, professional pretender Robin Goldsworthy says he’s basically playing himself as he was at age 22.
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Q&A
Meet Your Chorus: Holly Austin
Holly Austin is an actor, a musician, a playwright, a trained clown and improviser, and chorus member number 3 in Cyrano. Her character’s bravery changes the course of the play.
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Q&A
Meet Your Chorus: Milo Hartill
A self-identified ‘silly bean’, Milo Hartill is excited to be taking on the role of chorus member 1 in Cyrano, and trying to passively and directly influence the play’s narrative to go in a less tragic way.
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Q&A
From Evonne to Roxanne
Tuuli Narkle discusses Finnish reindeer herders, the importance of representation to a queer, mixed race teen, and her whirlwind lesson on an Australian icon.