The Shawshank Redemption is at the Milton Keynes Theatre until 22nd October.
Based on Stephen King’s 1982 novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption and adapted by Owen O’Neill and Dave Johns, this thrilling stage production examines desperation, injustice, friendship and hope behind the claustrophobic bars of a maximum-security facility.
The 1994 feature film, starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, was nominated for seven Academy Awards. The Shawshank Redemption went on to become the nation’s favourite movie and a huge source of inspiration to film makers, with The National Film Registry citing the film as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.
Despite protests of his innocence, Andy Dufresne is handed a double life sentence for the brutal murder of his wife and her lover. Incarcerated at the notorious Shawshank facility, he quickly learns that no one can survive alone.
Andy strikes up an unlikely friendship with the prison fixer Red, and things take a slight turn for the better. However, when Warden Stammas decides to bully Andy into subservience and exploit his talents for accountancy, a desperate plan is quietly hatched…
This production sees Joe Absolom take on the role of the wrongly convicted Andy Dufresne with Ben Onwukwe as his inmate Ellis “Red” Redding.
Joe Absolom’s impressive TV career has barely seen him off our screens in twenty-five years: from Matthew Rose in EastEnders to Al Large in Doc Martin, Christopher Halliwell in A Confession and Andy Warren in The Bay.
Joe Absolom said, “The Shawshank Redemption is one of my favourite films, an incredibly moving tale of friendship and injustice, and I’m thrilled to be playing the iconic role of Andy Dufresne on stage around the UK”.
Ben Onwukwe boasts a 30-year stage career including leading roles with the RSC and the Royal Court, as well as 11 years on TV as Recall McKenzie in London’s Burning and, more recently, the role of Jackson Donckers in Professor T.
Ben Onwukwe said, “I’m delighted to be returning to the role of “Red” in this amazing production. The Shawkshank Redemption film is one which many hold close to their hearts, and it’s exciting to be bringing Stephen King’s story to new audiences. It is a modern meditation on HOPE and in these times, it is Hope that we need”.
My thoughts on this production:
With a very strong cast behind them, Ben Onwukwe and Joe Absolom make a formidable team. with an excellent set giving the accurate impression of a cold, drab, stone prison exactly as described by Stephen King in the original book. At the beginning, Ben Onwukwe as Red has the unenviable but necessary task of quite a lengthy monologue to set the scene and tell the tale of his friend and fellow prisoner Andy, but he is a very commanding actor who has no trouble in quickly getting us – and keeping us spellbound during the narrative.
As you would expect after seeing him in many roles in TV dramas, Joe Absolom got the role of Andy Dufresne spot on! if anything he underplayed it which was just what was needed – we believed and liked the character of Andy from the start.
All of the characters in the story are so well defined by this great cast and, with the set and subtle use of sound effects (clanging prison doors etc), i dont know if Stephen King has been over to check out this latest production of his work, but I’m pretty sure he’ll love it when he does!
The Shawshank Redemption is currently on a major tour of the UK and I’d quite like to see how it works in a smaller more intimate space, but get to see it this week in MK Theatre if you can!
The Shawshank Redemption is at the Milton Keynes Theatre until 22nd October
Box Office: 0844 871 7615 or www.atgtickets.com/miltonkeynes
