Cool Hand Luke: Can it ever be as good as the film?

Cool Hand Luke: Can it ever be as good as the film?

15 August, 2011
by: CatherineSpoonfed

Catherine Love looks at the challenges of adaptation.
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Translating a story from page to stage is never an easy task. Great novels often flounder when forced in front of an auditorium. Anyone remember Trevor Nunn's notorious 2008 flop Gone with the Wind, about which the Sunday Times cuttingly wrote, “frankly, I fear, you won't give a damn”? Film adaptations like the recent, short-lived Flashdance can fare even worse, burdened as they are with the expectations of die-hard fans. When successful, however, like the National Theatre's phenomenal hit with Frankenstein earlier this year, adaptations can be inventive and lucrative re-imaginings of existing stories.

Playwright Emma Reeves has one such tricky adaptation on her hands with Cool Hand Luke. Telling the tale of an infamous and defiant prisoner, the narrative and its hero were immortalised in the classic 1967 prison flick starring Paul Newman, but the story of this rebel without a cause goes back far beyond Hollywood. Writer Donn Pearce first heard about notorious prisoner 'Cool Hand Luke' while serving time in a chain gang and later used the character as the starting point for a novel about his experiences of incarceration. The book was the basis for the film and it's now been adapted for the stage.

Reeves, who is responsible for this latest transformation of Cool Hand Luke, is an old hand at adaptation. Together with director Andrew Loudon, she is one of the key members of Novel Theatre, which has previously adapted Carrie's War, Little Women and Anne of Green Gables. These productions met with mixed responses. Which is perhaps unsurprising considering the perilous ground that writers tread upon when re-working a beloved text and potentially trampling on the expectations of legions of fans.

For this latest project, Reeves is keen to return to Donn Pearce's original novel rather than attempting to emulate the adored film. While the focus of the movie is on Luke's cool, heroic exterior and thrilling acts of rebellion, the stage version promises to dig deeper into the protagonist's character. “We were interested in exploring Luke’s inner conflict, revealing more layers of his character as the story unfolds,” Reeves has stated.

One trap that novel adaptations often fall into is that of being too doggedly faithful to the original. For this new stage version of Cool Hand Luke, however, Reeves has sidestepped this pitfall, departing from the novel by adding an additional character and creating a soundtrack of gospel songs.

Apart from a fresh take on this popular narrative, one of the big draws is lead actor and star of the small screen Marc Warren, although he will have his work cut out reinterpreting a role made famous by Hollywood legend Paul Newman.

If that isn't enough to get your theatrical taste buds salivating, perhaps the prospect of a man eating fifty eggs on stage will tempt you down to the Aldwych Theatre.



Cool Hand Luke runs at Aldwych Theatre from 23rd September



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