Sirano wa Bergeraki is a modern retelling of France’s most famous play Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand. Directed by Stuart Nash and produced by the Nairobi Performing Arts Studio, the action is set in 2011 in Nyati Barracks in Nanyuki in the lead-up to Operation Linda Nchi in Somalia.

The story revolves around Sirano Wa Bergeraki, a skilled military soldier in the Kenya Defence Force, poet, and philosopher. Despite his talents, he struggles with self-esteem issues due to his rather extraordinarily large nose. Sirano is deeply in love with Roxanne, a nurse in the army but believes she could never love him because of his nose.

Part of the series of annual Alliance Française Nairobi’s theatre productions that aims to showcase some of the finest French plays adapted for our times and context.