Mike Faist, Lucas Hedges to Star in Stage Adaptation of ‘Brokeback Mountain’

A stage adaptation of Brokeback Mountain will come to the West End this spring, starring Mike Faist and Lucas Hedges. 

The adaptation, which calls itself “a new play with music,” is based on Annie Proulx’s short story, which was later adapted into the 2005 film. The stage version was written by Ashley Robinson and features direction by Jonathan Butterell and songs by Dan Gillespie Sells.

The show will make its world premiere at London’s Soho Place and run from May 10 through August 12.

Hedges, who was Oscar-nominated for his role in Manchester By the Sea and has performed on Broadway, will play Ennis, the role portrayed by Heath Ledger in the film adaptation. Faist, who recently appeared on Broadway and in the West Side Story film, will play Jack, the role portrayed by Jake Gyllenhaal. Both actors will make their West End debuts with the show. 

The plot of the show appears similar to the film adaptation, in which Ennis and Jack take jobs on an isolated mountaintop in Wyoming in 1963 and embark on a hidden romantic relationship. 

The stage version will also bring in the role of the Balladeer, played by Eddi Reader, who Robinson wrote will sing Country and Western songs by Gillespie Sells and “give voice to the tumultuous inner landscape of our wannabe cowboys (both young men of few words).”

“Brokeback Mountain has been recreated in several different forms, each with its own distinctive moods and impact. Ashley’s script is fresh and deeply moving, opening sight lines not visible in the original nor successive treatments,” Proulx said.

“I’m honoured to be entrusted by Annie Proulx to bring new life in new form to her timeless and universal story. A story that means so much to so many, and will surely mean as much to a whole new generation,” Robinson said.