The Shawshank Redemption – Aylesbury Waterside Theatre

Writer: Stephen King

Adaptors: Owen O’Neill and Dave Johns

Director: David Esbjornson

As a film, Frank Darabont’s, The Shawshank Redemption is well-loved and regularly appears on top ten all-time best film lists. It is based on a Stephen King short story, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption and follows the story of Andy Dufresne, a convict serving life for a crime he claims he never committed. It is also about fellow convict Allis Redding, alias Red, a cynical dealer in contraband who has spent all his adult life in prison.

Andy is played capably by Joe Absolom with no hint of his popular character from Doc Martin. He brings dignity to the character of Andy and makes it easy for us to care about his fate.

Mark Heenehan plays the prison governor in a performance so solid he is the rock around which the story revolves. There is a quiet menace to his slowly spoken character. It is Heenehan’s measured delivery that saves him from a major problem of this production, which is audibility. Halfway back in this 1200 seater venue, when the stage is fully exposed, anyone who speaks quickly loses a fifth of their lines. In group scenes, almost all dialogue that tumbles over the preceding lines is lost. This is alleviated when actors have a downstage flat placed behind them reflecting a little more volume into the audience.

For the most part, the ensemble scenes are physically well-directed and choreographed with their own rhythm and stylistic touch that inform the atmosphere of the action. This is less successful in some of the moments of violence: sometimes it seems like poor stage combat technique, especially the attack on the prison governor. However, the depiction of a gang rape is horrific and shocking without being graphic.

Chris Davey’s lighting is excellent throughout, enhancing Gary McCann’s simple but clever set where rows of cells serve as stage wings. No matter how shadowy or sparse the lighting is we see everything we need to. The actors never miss their marks which I suspect are tight at times. The lighting through the ceiling-level windows invokes the presence of the outside world and the passing of the seasons, always out of the prisoner’s reach.

The energetic ensemble works well together with well-defined characters though maybe the director allows Leigh Jones Rooster to be a little too cartoonish taking the edge of his most excellent menace. Notable performances are given by Kenneth Jay as institutionalised Brooksie and Coulter Dittman as the enthusiastic but tragic Tommy Williams.

Serving as the narrator Ben Onwukwe, as Red, has some challenging moments, not least the long monologue he delivers, brilliantly, at the end of the play. He delivers it with a measured pace and is entirely audible unlike some of Onwukwe’s earlier narration. The character of Red raises the other problem the play has and that is, the ghost of Darabont’s film is always there. You cannot help but contrast this Red’s cynical dismissive challenge to his payroll interrogation with Morgan Freemans’s weary heart-felt understanding of exactly who he is and what he has thrown away. This is just not in O’Neill and Johns’ interpretation.

Clearly, this production is influenced by the film, not least in the finale music and Red’s iconic cap. The adaptation is a pick and mix of both book and film and stamps its own mark on the piece with varying degrees of success. The play’s resolution is a satisfying moment which does not need to be given away.

If you have never come across The Shawshank Redemption, you are surely going to hugely enjoy this retelling of a very strong Stephen King story. If you know the film, then you’ve got to let it go and roll with this new interpretation and enjoy the differences, but I urge you to seek out a smaller venue to experience this production in.

Runs until: 8 April 2023 and on tour