←Recommendations of The Bergerac Simulation

Commissioned in 2020 and broadcast as a part of our Classics N'at reading series in 2021! With THE BERGERAC SIMULATION, Mora skillfully accomplishes what every successful adaptation should. Her rich play not only stands on its own as a wildly imaginative and thoughtful update of Rostand's but also inspires us to revisit and reevaluate the source text with renewed interest. Sara is a virtuosic role, as funny as she is authentic. This is a story for modern audiences with a classical twinkle in its eye.

There is so much to love about this play. It's a smart, heart-filled, funny modern adaptation of Cyrano with Sara Bergerac at it's center. It doesn't just transpose the story to modern day but instead has a very specific point of view and stands on it's own as a play. The exploration of the artist's conundrum is so great, e.g. The playwright whose plays are actually funny, and therefore unproduced. References to rhinoplasty, "non-dis-nose-sure agreement", the female head scientist wears fake glasses to look smarter, the observation that "You cant just write emotions." are all gems.

Mora V. Harris is genuinely funny. Her characters and her dialogue are truly funny, so adapting Cyrano makes complete sense. Mora brings this classic into our age and plays with virtual reality in a clear and accessible way. It is fun. It is touching. It makes me laugh out loud.

This is a wonderful adaptation of the classic Cyrano De Bergerac story that does a great job of retaining the spirit of the original while also finding ways to be absolutely original and contemporary. I loved the use of virtual reality. The language is beautiful and the dialogue is often laugh-out-loud funny. Sara (no h!!!) is an irresistible character. Her refusal to be anything except "herself" is what makes this play about authenticity and friendship work so well.

I've been following 'The Bergerac Simulation' through its drafts stages, and have been delighted with what Mora Harris has managed to create. Shifting gender roles in 'Cyrano' and updating to a virtual reality setting might feel like a difficult sell, but Mora does it with such effortless charm and goofy humor that you can't help but fall in love with the world she has created. Many adaptations struggle under the weight of their predecessors, but this one is created with such a deft touch that you might emerge preferring Sara-no-H to Cyrano.

I got to see a wonderful virtual production of this through the Pittsburgh Public Theater. It's a hilarious, inventive, and heartwarming take on Cyrano, adapted for 21st century technology, with a feminist lens, while still maintaining the spirit of adventure, heartache, and poetry of the original.