Brokeback Mountain, the short story that inspired an Oscar-winning film, is to be adapted for the stage and is due to receive its world premiere in London next year.
Producer Tom O’Connell, who has previously produced productions including Beautiful Thing, Ghost Stories and The King’s Speech, has bought the stage rights for Annie Proulx’s 1960s-set tale and is working on bringing it to the capital.
Speaking about the project, O’Connell said: “I am honoured to bring Annie Proulx’s beloved story to the stage as a new play that celebrates her compelling writing and will bring a new perspective on this heart-warming tale of an unbreakable bond. I’ve been extremely lucky in my career to produce plays which challenge, inspire and educate as much as they entertain; the struggles that the characters of Brokeback Mountain go through are still present in the world today, making the piece as relevant as ever. I am very much looking forward to working alongside Annie with a first-class creative team to bring Jack and Ennis’ story to new audiences.”
The identity of that creative team, and the venue for the production, is currently unknown.
Brokeback Mountain tells the story of Ennis del Mar and Jack Twist, two men hired to tend the sheep on a remote grazing range for the course of a summer. Alone in the wilderness they form an intense bond that will change them forever. As their lives play out over the course of 20 years, through marriages, children and dead end jobs, they long to be together again on Brokeback Mountain.
Proulx commented: “I am looking forward with sharp anticipation to the stage interpretation of the star-crossed lovers of Brokeback Mountain who moved from the page to the screen and now, under the skilled hand of producer Tom O’Connell and the sensibilities of the company, to the stage – a strange journey for two messed-up wannabe cow-hands from Wyoming. The actors who pull on their scuffed-up boots will step into a difficult time in a hard place.”