THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION
A MAJOR NEW STAGE PRODUCTION
OPENS NEXT WEEK AT LEEDS GRAND THEATRE
STARRING
IAN KELSEY AS ANDY DUFRESNE
PATRICK ROBINSON AS ELLIS ‘RED’ REDDING
On announcing he was to bring to an end his role as practice manager Howard Bellamy in BBC One’s Doctors, there was immediate speculation as to what would be next for Ian Kelsey – now, the Yorkshire-born actor is heading back North to star in The Shawshank Redemption at Leeds Grand Theatre next week.
Ian leaves his starring role in a closely guarded story line this November to play Andy Dufresne, a banker who, having been handed a double life sentence for the brutal murder of his wife and her lover, finds himself incarcerated in the notorious Shawshank penitentiary.
Joining Ian is television’s Patrick Robinson whose impressive TV career has spanned more than two decades. Patrick is best known for his role as staff nurse-turned-consultant Martin ‘Ash’ Ashford in BBC’s Casualty.
Unflinching in his protests of innocence, Andy strikes up an unlikely friendship with the prison fixer Red, played by Robinson, 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.
Based on the 1982 novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by celebrated author Stephen King, the playexamines desperation, injustice, friendship and hope behind the claustrophobic bars of a maximum security facility.
The 1994 feature film, regularly voted the number one all-time movie, starred Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne andMorgan Freeman as Ellis ‘Red’ Redding and was nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actor for Freeman.
The Shawshank Redemption is at Leeds Grand Theatre from Monday August 31st to Saturday September 5th.
Tickets are on sale now priced from £18.50 to £35.
Book online at leedsgrandtheatre.com or call Box Office on 0844 848 2700.