Starting a week of back-to-back Hollywood blockbusters at The Regent, Shawshank Redemption began life as a 1982 novella by Steven King ‘Rita Hayworth And The Shawshank Redemption’ which was then the basis of the 1994 blockbuster film and has now been once again transformed wonderfully to the stage.
Those familiar with the Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins depiction, will find this a slightly different fare. Adapted by Owen O’Neill and Dave Johns, the stage play traverses its own path and develops the other characters far more than the screen version, whilst staying loyal to the storyline and major themes.
The story follows that of Andy Dufresne, convicted of the double-murder of his wife and her lover and his descension into the horrors of Shawshank prison. The very eptiome of hell-on-earth, a penitentiary designed to break a man’s soul and spirit with corrupt officials, thuggish officers and some terrifying inmates. But somehow through the pain and suffering comes a beautiful story of the redemption of friendship, hope and freedom.
Its natural to draw comparisons with the Hollywood cast, but almost immediately that was put to one side as they all did a fantastic job of making the characters their own. Joe Absolom, whose many credits include Eastenders and Doc Martin, plays Andy Dufresne and wonderfully plays the highly intelligent, but tormented character. Ben Onwukwe plays Red, occasionally breaking the fourth wall with his brilliantly gravelly voice, accentuating the stage action with supplementary dialogue. The two take the storyline through its gory twists, unexpected turns and into the final climactic crescendo of hope.
The supporting cast are great, developing their back stories, with Mark Heenhan as the corrupt Warden Stammas, Joe Reisig as the brutal officer Hadley, they are seen as the symbols of the broken system which is the norm at Shawshank. Kenneth Jay plays Brooksie, a character who struggles with his impending release, having lost his family and tormented by the guilt of both his actions and the fact he doubts his worth of freedom.
Jay Marsh plays the sadistic ‘Bogs Diamond’ with Leigh Jones playing his unhinged sidekick ‘Rooster’ who represent the brutal side of the inmates at the ‘Shank.
The set simplistic but effective as the dour and eerie backdrop with a well chosen soundtrack of hits from the time, playing from radios on set and inbetween scene transitions.
As a note, the production does have language and themes which may be unsuitable for younger theatre-goers and has a guideline of 12+
The standing ovation that the opening night audience gave was completely deserved. The Shawshank Redemption is a wonderful play of a beacon of hope and spirit being found in the most unlikely of places and is definitely recommended viewing whilst in town. The blockbuster on screen, is now a blockbuster on stage!
The show runs until 25th February and tickets are available now from https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/the-shawshank-redemption/regent-theatre/
To listen to an exclusive interview with Joe Absolom, click here
Photo Credit: Jack Merriman
