I went to see The Shawshank Redemption at the Regent Theatre in Hanley last night, and I was unbelievably excited as the movie became one of my all time favourites the first time I saw it. Like most people, I was extremely late to the party with this one. I never saw it at the cinema, and was introduced to it by my wife around 15 years after its release. And after reading up on it, I wasn’t the only one as it was actually a flop at the Box Office on its release.
Many reasons were cited for its failure at the time, including competition from films such as Pulp Fiction and Forrest Gump, the general unpopularity of prison films, its lack of female characters, and even the title, which was considered to be confusing for audiences.
Would the production live up to my expectations? This was a question I’d asked myself numerous times on the run up to opening night and I hated the thought that it could be a huge let down. After all, it has a lot to live up to, and the actors have some big boots to fill, following in the footsteps of the incredible Morgan Freeman and academy award winning Tim Robbins amongst others.
The Shawshank Redemption is based on the 1994 movie written and directed by Frank Darabont, which was based in turn on the 1982 Stephen King novel Rita Hayworth & The Shawshank Redemption.
It tells the story of banker Andy Dufresne (Joe Absolom), who is given two life sentences at Shawshank State Penitentiary for the brutal murders of his wife and her lover, despite his claims of innocence. In his time at Shawshank, he befriends a fellow prisoner, contraband smuggler Ellis "Red" Redding (Ben Onwukwe) and becomes instrumental in an opportunistic money laundering operation led by prison Warden Stammas (Mark Heenehan).
Ben was superb as Red, and really put his own spin on the character whilst maintaining the warmth, wisdom and genuine depth that Morgan Freeman portrayed. I don’t want to keep referring to the movie, but most people will. And as I’ve not read the book, it’s my only point of reference.
The whole cast in general were superb in their roles. I especially loved Kenneth Jay as Brooksie, even more so than the movie portrayal. And Coulter Dittman was excellent as Tommy Williams, the young man Andy helped to pass his exams whilst in prison. He was likeable and cheeky, exactly as you’d expect. It’s scary that given some of the heinous crimes these men committed that they can be so lovable.
Some of the acting for the scenes of violence were questionable, but the cast overall were generally impressive.
Unfortunately the only cast member that I didn’t really take to was Joe Absolom. Andy is a character that hides a huge amount of mystery. He’s calm, collected and mysterious and up to a certain point, we should find ourselves questioning wether he was actually capable of committing the crime he was incarcerated for. There are times we should think that it was utterly impossible, and there are times that should make us question our faith in him. It’s that which makes Andy Dufresne such a likeable character. Joe’s portrayal just didn’t do that for me, and I found some of his acting to be unbelievably mediocre given his experience. The chemistry between him and Ben was none existent. The way they performed their final scene was endearing, but I would put most of that down to Gary McCann’s talents as set designer. I have to give Joe credit where it’s due though as I respect him for taking on the role. Expectations are naturally high, I don’t think I’d be brave enough to attempt it if it were me in his shoes, so hats off to him.
The set was great, but not quite as impressive as some of Bill Kenwright’s other productions. It was imaginative & creative in places, but I felt that given the popularity of the story, it could have been slicker.
I felt that microphones were needed for characters to truly show some of the varied emotions through their voices rather than having to raise their voice. I wasn’t the only one to comment that you really had to listen hard and hang onto every word to hear what was going on, especially with some of the deep American accents. There was emotive music in places to really sell certain situations, but probably not enough of it.
There were numerous messages to take away from this production. Andy spent over twenty years in Shawshank, and whilst I’m fully aware that it’s not based on any kind of true story, it demonstrated that persistence pays off, change is inevitable, hope is a good thing, what goes around comes around and if you don’t take chances, you’ll never know.
It also sends a powerful message that your time is everything. All of us have the same 24 hours and the choice about how we use them. To echo a phrase from the production, you either get busy living, or you get busy dying.
Is the production perfect? No, it’s not. Did it meet my expectations? Not quite. But it was generally good and if you’ve never seen the movie or this production before, you’ll definitely enjoy it.
The Shawshank Redemption is a tale of justice, hope, friendship and humanity which transcends genre and age. I would highly recommend seeing this production for yourselves.
My Verdict: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Shawshank Redemption is playing at the Regent Theatre NOW up until and including Saturday 25th February. Tickets are on sale and are available from the Box Office, by calling 0844 871 7649 or visiting www.atgtickets.com/stoke