I came to see the The Shawshank Redemption late, long after it first came out as a film, on a flight to Canada. I was immediately drawn into the story and was later bemused to find out that it never took off as a film, only after it went out in DVD. It seems originally the title confused many American's. The stage adaptation is a miracle, capturing the spirit and essence of the story to perfection and, often hard to do on stage, being very moving and in the final moments hugely uplifting. I can see why people cheer and stand at the end, unfortunately not last Saturday night. I cannot imagine it not crossing the pond where the audiences will be up on their feet cheering and during the performance too not just at the end! A classic example of why we keep on going back to the theatre. Terrific! - houndtang
22 Nov 09
Screen to stage transfers are two a penny these days and most are run of the mill at best. The Shawshank Redemption is one of the most popular films of all time (although it tanked on first release) so surely a stage adaptation would pale in comparison. In fact it works extremely well - the claustrophobia of a prison works well on stage, the story is so compelling that you are immediately caught up in the lives of these great characters and there are two excellent central performances from Kevin Anderson and Reg Cathey (it helps that they strongly resemble their screen counterparts). There are some faults; the characters don't age and it's still not explained how the poster is replaced, but this is an excellent piece of theatre in its' own right and it's no surprise that some members of the audience rose to cheer as Red strode into an emotional sunset. - David Baxter
25 Sep 09
Banged up in a US prison two inmates from opposite sides of the tracks forge an unlikely friendship against a background of corrupt wardens, wisecracking murderers and a hanging. The stage version of 'Shawshank Redemption' is ‘Chicago’ for straight men. +++
Whilst not actually channelling Renee Zellweger and Catherine Z. Jones, leads Kevin Anderson and ‘The Wire’ star Reg E. Cathey draw parallels as Anderson’s innocent-behind-bars learns quickly who not to trust and how to manipulate the corrupt system, while Cathey’s persistent recidivist tries to distance himself from the morality but eventually succumbs. +++
Like most current screen-to-stage adaptations (Sister Act, Breakfast at Tiffany’s) legal ownership of the movie rights prevented a direct adaptation from the filmscript and the source material reverts to a less sparkling original novel or treatment. +++
The dialogue’s too fluent for movie realism but works well enough on stage where the supporting cast turn in sharp performances, notably Ryan McCluskey’s engaging performance as the cheerful gambler Heywood. McCluskey is billed as first cover for Anderson’s lead role and it would be interesting to see him play it. +++
Equally outstanding is the least sympathetic character, the violent sodomite Bogs played with utter conviction by Joe Hanley whose priapic readiness to exact the ultimate rite of passage on new inmates gives new meaning to the phrase ‘hardened criminal’. +++
Ferdia Murphy’s two-tier set of prison bars is simple to the point of emptiness, and bizarre when placed in the blue white and gold cherub-studded proscenium of Wyndham’s Theatre. Lighting Designer Kevin Treacy could have worked harder to reduce the spill on to the auditorium and focus more harshly on the prison. +++
An interesting echo on the sound system actively suggests the hard surfaces, but otherwise there's little to indicate place, the passing of time or seasons, or to convince us that this is a real penitentiary. +++
There’s plenty of shouting and banging, and a lot of booted stomping in the fight scenes but ultimately this Shawshank – as Roxie says - it’s just a noisy hall where there’s a nightly brawl, and All That Jazz. +++ more reviews at www.blowstar.blogspot.com - JohnnyFox
17 Sep 09
I have not seen the film, so cannot be influenced as to comparisons. However, I believe the Play is based more on the original story and not a duplicate of the film? The two main performers were very good, but there was little tension or drama in the first half. I was not quite sure what the Warden was doing. His performance was like a blank white sheet throughout? With time the overall play and the many individual scenes will become "crisper" and will then add to the clarity of what it is all about. Promising start but needs work to become something special. - John Trott
14 Sep 09
Saw on Friday and was blown away by the raw emotion on stage. I've never been 100% convinced of the film's position in the numerous greatest film lists but as a stage production it has the power to move.
The effective set and wonderful evocative lighting adds to the sheer power of the piece - Tim
14 Sep 09
An entertaining adaptation which is different enough to be worth watching even if you've seen the film a few times. Good performances although the relationship between Red and Andy doesn't seem as close as in the film - houndtang
