From Page To Stage
Donn Pearce never met Cool Hand Luke. But he heard about him. Whilst serving a two-year sentence for safecracking on a Florida road gang, he heard about a man known as “Cool Hand Luke” - a notoriously recidivist escapee whose audacious flights were the stuff of prison legend. Years later, when Donn Pearce came to write his novel, he kept the name - it was just too good to change. The rest of it, he had to invent.
Initially, Pearce’s novel presents Luke as a classic Hollywood hero. He’s relaxed in the face of danger, impervious to brutality, indestructible - and impossible. Gradually, we discover the truth behind the heroic facade. “Cool Hand Luke” is an artificial construction, a fiction created by a damaged war veteran in order to survive. Luke himself is somewhat troubled by the success of his assumed character, and actively discourages worship of this false self - which entirely fails to put off his many followers. Haunted by his experiences - most crucially, by his own actions and their consequences - Luke is constantly running; from the bosses, from his family, from the gang’s adulation, but mostly from himself.
Director Andrew Loudon and I collaborated on the script for many months. In the middle of this process, we spent a week working through the script with a full cast. We were interested in exploring Luke’s inner conflict, revealing more layers of his character as the story unfolds. We first see Luke through the eyes of his admiring peers, laughing at authority; he’s ultimately cool, seemingly invulnerable. Later, we discover how he’s able to pull off this trick. And as with all good illusions, the explanation is disappointing. The Bosses can’t break Luke because he’s already broken. Whether he’s suffering post traumatic stress disorder or cursed by God, he’s trapped in a world of mental torment more painful than anything imposed by the 1940s Florida penal system. His journey through hell raises timeless and profound questions about authority, personal responsibility and the nature of God.
In our adaptation, Luke is accompanied on this journey by the character of Mary, who becomes narrator, commentator and provider of an alternative moral framework through old spirituals and gospel songs. The songs, with their often subversive lyrics, their dreams of escape and freedom, express a hope of a God who is more than a stern Boss in the sky.
Luke is caught between heaven and hell. He’s a deeply flawed man who is struggling to find a better way of living - a struggle which is doomed to fail as he’s trapped in a world whose values he cannot accept. Whether you see Luke as a Messiah or a very naughty boy, we hope that his story will prove compelling.
By Emma Reeves