It's
always a risky business when a popular movie is adapted for the stage.
Audiences love to see familiar characters, but if you get it wrong,
they can be unforgiving. So a bold move by producer Bill Kenwright to
transfer one of the most popular movies of the 1990s, The Shawshank Redemption
into the theatre. Based on Stephen King's 1982 short story 'Rita
Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption', this is an unusally uplifting
prison drama.
For
those unaware, Andy Dufresne is sent to Shawshank to serve two life
setnences for the (supposed) murder of his wife and her lover. Here he
meets Red, a convinct who specialises in supplying (for a price)
contraband items. The two become unlikely friends, and Andy's quiet
conviction and inner strength become a fascination for Red. But Andy, a
gentle and intelligent soul, becomes the victim of the prison system.
The brutal guards - led by psychotic Hadley - and a gang of inmates
nicknamed 'the sisters' repeatedly inflict sexual and physical abuse
on Andy. One of Andy's passions is reading, and he is determined to
get a better library in the prison. The elderly prison librarian
Brooksie, having served five decades there, welcomes any help in
improving the facilities at the hell hole of a state penatentiary.
When
Andy asks Red to get him a rock hammer and a large poster of Rita
Hayworth no-one could have imagined that over a period of 19 years these
two items would form the basis of Andy's plans for a new life.
Finding
two actors to match up to the iconic on screen performances of Morgan
Freeman and Tim Robbins must have been difficult. But Bill Kenwright
has managed to get two superb actors who are equal to the challenge.
Ben Onwukwe has a flavour of Freeman, but very much gives his own
reading of Ellis 'Red' Redding. He is our principal narrator of the
evening, observing and getting caught up in the spiraling events at
Shawshank. Ex-Eastender Joe Absolom is equally impressive as Andy,
managing to capture the muted grit and amiable demeanour that Robbins
managed so beautifully on celluloid. Mark Heenehan is a delight, as
the slimey and corrupt Warden Stammas. Feathering his own nest with
financial scams for which Andy is pressured into being book keeper. We
never get to see his come-uppance on stage which slightly robs the
audience of a pay-off for the character. Joe Reisig as Hadley is very
much at home in the role, dishing out beatings to the inmates and
generally being the scourge of the prison. On the other side of the
line, Kenneth Jay as Brooksie, facing parole but terrified of life on
the outside after a lifetime behind bars, is another lovely performance.
Director
David Esbjornson manages to find the balance between the harsh
environment of Shawshank and its less than savoury inhabitants, and the
gentle beauty of the friendship between Red and Andy. Gary McCann has
designed a realistic prison set, into which props and furniture are
rolled on, which cements our belief in the story being told. This is
complimented by Chris Davey's lighting design which enhances the mood of
the scenes, and creates a clautrophobic atmosphere.
I
have to say this screen-to-stage adaptation is one of the better of
the genre. It's a classic story, tightly told and brilliantly brought
to life given the confines of the stage. I would imagine that if you
are like us, an admirer of the movie, you won't feel short changed by
this stage production. The enthusiastic applause of the audience at the
end ensured that Red and Andy's incarceration was not in vain.
Rob Cope
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