Sword fighting, poetry, unrequited love and a very large nose all set the scene for the show “Cyrano de Bergerac,” which will come to the Performing Arts Center this weekend.

“Cyrano de Bergerac” is a play that takes place in 17^th century France. It tells the story of swordsman and poet Cyrano de Bergerac and will be presented on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

The show first premiered in 1887 at the Theater de la Porte St. Martin. It has become one of the most well known French plays performed and has maintained its popularity over many years.

In the show, the character Cyrano has his sights set on the beautiful Roxane but is too nervous to reveal his true feelings because he thinks he is ugly due to his abnormally long nose.

“He’s kind, intelligent, brave and an excellent swordsman. He would be the whole package if not for the fact that he is ugly and has a giant nose that gets in his way both literally and metaphorically,” Stacie McDaniel, house manager, said.

The New York based theatre troupe, The Aquila Theatre Company, whose goal is to create reinterpretations of classical plays with new styles for contemporary audiences will perform “Cyrano de Bergerac.”

For their version of “Cyrano de Bergerac,” there is a good deal of action and physical comedy.

“The Aquila Theatre is a movement based theater, so what I’m looking forward to the most is the fight sequences, sword fighting and physical comedy,” McDaniel said.

During the course of the show, France goes to war and Cyrano goes to war with it. Also in battle with him is a very handsome, but not intelligent, man named Christian who wishes to steal the heart of Roxane.

In an act of selflessness, Cyrano agrees to write love letters to Roxane and has Christian sign them so that Roxane will fall in love with the handsome Christian.

“Beautifully funny, poignant and often heart-wrenching, ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’ is one of the most famous romantic adventures in world literature,” Carol Thompson, administrative director, said.

“We read the script for this in my French class in high school. I couldn’t believe it when I saw they were performing it here. It’s such a classic,” Harrison Hogan, freshman chemistry and French double-major, said.

Ticket prices are $20 for general admission and $10 for Georgia Southern University students.