Sound and Fury's 'Cyranose!'

This is the first year comic trio Sound and Fury have bought one of their shows to Edinburgh, and it’s well worth the wait. This musical parody of Cyrano de Bergerac, enacted in modern-noveau style, is a vaudevillian treat performed at lightening pace and with rapier-like wit.

The Los Angeles-based troupe begin by chatting to the audience, casually introducing their act as if we’re long-lost friends catching up over a coffee. This is all part of their grand plan – to present an hour of comedy in a friendly, accessible manner. It’s a plan with audience interaction at its heart and as a result, there are no passive bystanders.

The story is simple; Cyranose falls in love with his cousin Roxanne (“it’s okay, we’re in France”), but is blighted by insecurities about his big nose and instead helps another man to win her heart. Meanwhile, since it’s 1642, sarcasm has just been invented, which is a useful tool to have in the armoury of any budding-comedy troupe and is consequently employed in abundance.

'Cyranose' is silly—think Monty Python with American accents—and mime sword fights, cheap wigs and bad accents all contribute to the hilarity and havoc.

The three men—Shelby Bond, Vinny Cardinale and Richard Maritzer—have sparkling chemistry, and their tremendous quick-wit is exemplified when, after an audience member suggests ‘Cantelope’ for one particular sketch, Maritzer comes out from backstage to shout, “We cant elope, we’re married.”

Cyranose is a deliciously silly play, a song-and-dance treat, and a Fringe highlight.