BE yourself. Everybody else is already taken. An Oscar Wilde quote, of course. But how relevant to modern times. And to a modern take on the Cyrano de Bergerac story.

If the past two years have taught us anything it’s lessons about loss and the importance of communication.

Listening to the voices in our heads isn’t healthy. Listening to politicians try to score points even less so.

What we need to be able to do is say words that matter. To our own lives.

And isn’t it perfect timing therefore that Cyrano has arrived, starring James McAvoy in an acclaimed ensemble piece.

The adaptation by Martin Crimp “splices the swordplay and wordplay of the original with the contemporary world of poetry-slams, beatboxing and rap-battles.”

Oh, gosh. On Soutra Gilmour’s sparse wooden box of a set, the cast conjures the world of the play using words and little else.

So, forget about muskateering evocations. Period inflection. What this play is underlining is we can achieve a helluva lot with a good mouthful.

And isn’t language wonderful when deployed to such great effect, it’s elasticity, the sense of fun it creates? And the power and the potency of McAvoy’s Cyrano to “win, wound and woo.”

The Scot is very good at the winning, wounding and wooing, as you would expect of a Hollywood superstar. He wallows in the one-liners.

As for the plot? Well, it’s still rather familiar. Cyrano fancies his cousin Roxane something rotten.

But he doesn’t fancy his chances at all because she’s into blokes who look like they belong in a boy band.

Such as Christian. But Christian isn’t too hot when it comes to speaking words in any meaningful manner.

That’s where Cyrano comes in. Pushing his own desires to one side, he drops his Glaswegian and switches to Christian’s soft London, allowing Roxane to think that this dolt really does have something going on between his ears.

What’s interesting about the production is that Cyrano doesn’t don the expected large hooter. The ugliness he sees in the mirror is all in his head.

And that, of course, is relevant because lockdown has meant too many have become fixated by image, spent too long worrying over how they must look to the world. Thankfully, Cyrano has his linguistic muscles to flex and can rap ‘till his heart’s content.

But is it all right to deceive a woman in such a way, a woman aware of her own beauty and fiercely critical of “male gaze” objectification?

Don’t worry. All this is factored in, to achieve all objectives. And that means we are reminded of the power of friendship, self-sacrifice, and truth.

And the hope that the softly spoken clever words ensures love wins out at the end of the day.

If only John Bercow, the Former Speaker of the House of Commons, had seen this play, he may not be queuing up at the visitor’s gate.

Cyrano de Bergerac, The Theatre Royal Glasgow, March 18 -26 (Sold out)