'Thelma & Louise' makes London stage debut, story remains timely

More than three decades after "Thelma & Louise" became a cult classic, an adaptation of the Oscar-winning film is making its London stage debut, with creator Callie Khouri saying the issues at its heart remain unresolved.

The original 1991 film, whose screenplay earned Khouri an Academy Award, follows two women on the run while tackling themes of gender-based violence and the enduring strength of friendship.

"People have said to me over the years, ‘That film changed everything’, to which I always reply, ‘Not enough’," Khouri told Reuters. "Things have not gotten terribly better in terms of the issues that the play and the movie address."

Khouri said she spent years turning down suggestions for sequels and prequels, because she believed the original film stood on its own and that the performances by Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon were "singular and definitive". She changed her mind when producer Scott Delman proposed a musical version and her husband suggested singer-songwriter Neko Case write the score.

"As soon as I heard that name, I was like, 'I want to explore this further'," Khouri said.

For Case, a three-time Grammy nominee making her musical theatre debut, the enduring resonance of the story was a major draw.

"I knew the world still needed it. And we need it even more now," the Americana iconoclast told Reuters.

Director Trip Cullman described the production as "a musical for people who don’t like musicals", saying the score draws more from rock music than traditional musical theatre.

He too was compelled by the story’s continued relevance. "These two characters are … as important and relevant characters in our cultural sort of lexicon as King Lear," he said. "I really think that they are modern-day mythological heroes."

Reflecting on the film's legacy, Khouri said she remains grateful to the many women who have told her it has changed their lives.

"That is the most you can hope for with any piece of work, that it deeply affects the person who sees it," she said. "I'm just happy when they like it."

"Thelma & Louise: A New Musical", starring Amy Lennox as Thelma and Rachel Tucker as Louise, is now showing at London’s Young Vic Theatre, and will run until October 24.

-Reporting by Francesca Halliwell; Editing by Jamie Freed/Reuters