Cool Hand Luke - Adaptations

Adaptations

The book has been adapted into a West End play by Emma Reeves. Cool Hand Luke opened at London's Aldwych Theatre on 3 October 2011 starring Marc Warren, but closed after less than two months, following some poor reviews. Michael Billington of The Guardian called it "an oddly undramatic evening that, in strenuously seeking to mythologise Luke, undercuts his defiant humanity", whilst Charles Spencer of The Daily Telegraph, comparing it to the film only so far as it was "inferior in almost every respect". However, Libby Purves, writing for The Times, defended the production. In a four star review, she praised the adaptation's addition of "a shatteringly effective wartime flashback and brilliantly deadpan account of brutalities", concluding that "it's a proper play, worth doing". The show was chosen by The Times both as Critic's Choice and What the Critics Would Pay To See.