Cyrano de Bergerac

The Food of Love is partly a modern-day retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac, one of the greatest romantic tragi-comedies of all time. In this play, written by Edmund Rostand, Cyrano is brave, witty and a brilliant swordsman, but he is also the possessor of a grotesquely large nose.

Cyrano is in love with his cousin, the beautiful Roxanne, but does not dare tell her so because he fears the humiliation of being rejected. Instead, he agrees to help his friend Christian de Neuvillette woo her. Christian is as tongue-tied as Cyrano is witty, but with Cyrano’s coaching Christian succeeds in marrying Roxanne.

The Count de Guiche is a nobleman who wants to possess Roxanne himself. He therefore arranges to have her new husband sent off to fight at Arras, and betrays his whole regiment so that he can be sure of Christian’s death.

Meanwhile, Cyrano is writing love letters to Roxanne in Christian’s name. Roxanne is so moved that she comes to the front line to tell Christian how much she loves him. However, Christian now realises that Roxanne’s real love is not for him but for the sentiments Cyrano has expressed in his letters. He tells Cyrano that they must let Roxanne choose for herself which one of them she will love - but before this can happen, Christian is killed in battle. Roxanne, heartbroken at the loss of her eloquent, passionate lover, flees to a convent.

Many years later, the Count de Guiche arranges to have Cyrano killed, as revenge for his part in allowing Roxanne to escape the Count’s clutches. Cyrano dies in front of Roxanne. He asks her to read Christian’s last letter to her, which she has kept next to her heart all these years. When he recites it, from memory, along with her, she finally realises that it was Cyrano who truly loved her.