Theatre Royal Brighton – until Saturday 28 January 2023
Reviewed by Sue Bradley
4****
The Shawshank Redemption is an adaptation of the film, itself based on a short novel by Stephen King, and tells the story of Andy Dufresne; a wrongly convicted man serving two life sentences for crimes he did not commit, in the notoriously harsh Shawshank Prison.
That’s the top-line. But the real story unfolds as fellow lifer Ellis ‘Red’ Redding takes the role of narrator and helps us to understand the effect that the gentle, clever and essentially honest Andy has on his fellow inmates as well as the prison itself.
Joe Absolom (Eastenders, Doc Martin and many other TV roles) brings a sort of wide-eyed desperation to the part of Andy, staying true to his core beliefs whilst dealing with the unrelenting harshness of the penitentiary. But it is Ben Onwukwe (Eastenders, Coronation Street, Holby City) as Red who really holds our attention. Perhaps channelling some of the gravitas that Morgan Freeman brought to the role in the original film version of the story, Ben has a charismatic deep and resonant voice that perfectly suits the role and made it an absolute pleasure to listen to, despite the lack of hope portrayed in the prison setting.
As part of this excellent cast, notable roles are played by Mark Heenehan as the unscrupulous Warden Stammas, Joe Reisig as the vicious prison guard Hadley and Leigh Jones as Rooster, the hair-trigger con with a maddening laugh.
Set and lighting design by Gary McCann and Chris Davey is simple and effective – we are never left in any doubt that this is a cheerless place to serve out your time.I have seen the film several times over the years and occasionally wondered about the title. If Andy is an innocent man, then why does he need redemption? It came home to me last night that this is as much Red’s story as it is Andy’s, and it is Red’s transformation through his long friendship with Andy that gives the story its name. This is a very fine production and, on a bitterly cold January night, we were, in a way, glad to be ‘inside the Shank’ with Andy, Red and their fellow inmates