"Cyrano" with Virginia Gay

Queer Lit

Are you in the mood for queer joy and lots of panache? Come, come, listen to this episode about Virginia Gay’s Cyrano, an excitingly fun, gender-twisting play that you will love to the moon and back. Virginia talks about why this play resonates so much for queer people, how James McAvoy made her want to write it, and why theatre should always be hot, weird, funny and no more than a 90-minute experience.
To keep up-to-date with this beautiful production, follow @cyranolive and @thatsmsgaytoyou on Instagram. @queerlitpodcast is there too.

References:
Cyrano de Bergerac
Fried Green Tomatoes
Park Theatre London @parktheatrelondon
James McAvoy
Jamie Lloyd
Steve Martin
Roxanne (1987)
Daryl Hannah
L’esprit de l’escalier
Jessica Whitehurst
Joseph Evans
The Handmaiden
Sarah Waters’ Fingersmith
Roxane Gay
Virginia Gay’s Cyrano (Spotify) https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3Uayz56Nzmdekj1rry7rIP

Questions you should be able to respond to after listening:

1. Virginia’s Cyrano is what one might call a gender-swap moment. Can you think of other plays, rewrites, or adaptions that alter the story by changing the protagonist’s gender?
2. We use three different pronouns for Cyrano in the episode. Which one is your favourite and why?
3. Virginia speaks about several moments of metatheatre. Can you look up what metatheatre means and name one example?
4. What does ‘l’esprit de l’escalier’ mean and how does it relate to writing?
5. Virginia speaks about the complicity of the audience in problematic stories. Have you ever wanted to apologise to a character?
6. What playlist (or play) gives you queer joy?