SCOTTISH actor James McAvoy has traded trade the bald cap of Professor X for the extremely large nose of one of history’s most famous libertines.

The X-Men and BBC’s His Dark Materials star can be seen live onstage in NT Live’s screening of Cyrano de Bergerac to Theatr Pontio on Thursday, February 20 at 7pm.

The play, adapted by Martin Crimp from Edmond Rostand’s French version, will be the first in a new season directed by Jamie Lloyd at the Playhouse Theatre, which will see 15,000 tickets given away free to first-time theatre-goers.

Fierce with a pen and notorious in combat, Cyrano almost has it all - if only he could win the heart of his true love Roxane. There’s just one big problem: he has a nose as huge as his heart. Will a society engulfed by narcissism get the better of Cyrano - or can his mastery of language set Roxane’s world alight?

Edmond Rostand’s masterwork is adapted by Martin Crimp, and under the direction of Lloyd, reprises a relationship with McAvoy that has seen the pair collaborate on productions of The Ruling Class and Macbeth at Trafalgar Studios, as well as Three Days of Rain at the Apollo Theatre.

This classic play will be brought to life with linguistic ingenuity to celebrate Cyrano’s powerful and resonant resistance against overwhelming odds.

Tickets are £15. To book visit pontio.co.uk or call the box office on 01248 382828.