Arturo Cirillo's Cyrano: Entertainer and Freak on Stage in Ancona

Arturo Cirillo's adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac premiered in Ancona, Italy, offering a metatheatrical interpretation that frames the protagonist as an entertainer who finds identity only on stage. Cirillo, who also directs and stars, contrasts his version with Joe Wright's 2021 film starring Peter Dinklage, where Cyrano is portrayed as a melancholic freak due to dwarfism. Cirillo's Cyrano is a performer whose theatrical vocation is explored through interpolations of Pinocchio, emphasizing the character's inability to escape the stage. The production features original music by Federico Odling, rapid scene changes, and a cast including Valentina Picello, Giacomo Vigentini, Rosario Giglio, Giulia Trippetta, and Carlo Amleto Giammusso (temporary replacement for Francesco Petruzzelli). The show debuted at the Marche Teatro venue, with a deliberately artificial set (cardboard trenches) and glittering costumes, underscoring the theme of conscious fiction. The narrative weaves Rostand's text with reflections on love, inadequacy, and the horror vacui of the performer. This production builds on Leonardo Manzan's 2019 Biennale Teatro version, which used rap to highlight Cyrano's life-saving fiction.