
The moment magnetic American rising stars Mike Faist and Lucas Hedges come on stage, apprehension about this adaptation of the famous cowboy love story is dispelled. What we have here is a tough, tender account of two men caught unawares by taboo desire in hardscrabble Wyoming in 1963, and it’s beautifully performed.
Ashley Robinson – an actor making an impressive playwrighting debut – and director Jonathan Butterell honour Annie Proulx’s original short story. And they try hard to ignore Ang Lee’s 2005 movie with Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal.