Brokeback Mountain set for West End adaptation 18 years after Oscar-winning film

20 March 2023 , 15:34

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Brokeback Mountain is being adapted for the West End

Brokeback Mountain is heading to the West End nearly 20 years after the tragic Oscar-winning film was first released.

The stage adaptation is being promoted as a "play with music" and will follow the heartbreaking story of two cowboys, Ennis and Jack, and their intense secret relationship amid the homophobic climate of 1960s Wyoming.

The star-crossed lovers will be played by Lucas Hedges, 26, of Manchester by the Sea, and West Side Story's Mike Faist, 31.

In the Academy Award-winning Hollywood film, Ennis was portrayed by the late Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal took on the role of Jack.

Director Ang Lee's 2005 film was based on a 1997 short story by Annie Proulx, which was originally published in The New Yorker. The play is being directed by Jonathan Butterell and has been written by Ashley Robinson.

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Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal took on the roles as Ennis and Jack in the 2005 film (Unknown)

"Brokeback Mountain has been recreated in several different forms, each with its own distinctive moods and impact," Proulx said in a statement.

"Ashley's script is fresh and deeply moving, opening sight lines not visible in the original nor successive treatments."

The play starts in 1963 Wyoming, where Ennis and Jack take jobs looking after sheep on the isolated Brokeback Mountain.

Lucas Hedges and Mike Faist will take on the leading roles on the West End

An undeniable attraction arises between the pair, irrevocably changing their lives within an extremely rural and conservative community.

Their relationship becomes even more complicated when both of them get married to their respective girlfriends.

"I'm honored to be entrusted by Annie Proulx to bring new life in new form to her timeless and universal story," Robinson said.

Ennis and Jack develop a sexual and emotional relationship (EPA)

"A story that means so much to so many, and will surely mean as much to a whole new generation."

Director Jonathan Butterell said: "When Ashley approached us about collaborating on Brokeback Mountain we were struck immediately by his deep connection to the world and community that Annie has so brilliantly written about over the years.

"He brought to the adaptation an authenticity and an understanding of these working class men, scraping to survive the harsh brutality of their environment and the insularity of thinking surrounding them, which ultimately leads to their tragedy."

Brokeback Mountain opens at the Soho Place Theatre in London's West End on May 10 and will run for a limited time through Aug. 12.

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