‘The audience was as rapt as I was as events unfolded’
I was glad, as I took my seat at Hull New Theatre last night for the opening of The Shawshank Redemption, that I could not recall much of the film version I saw donkey’s years back. Can it really be as long ago as 1994 that it came out?
The plot was hazy and the ending lost to me, so fortunately I had no comparisons to draw on. Nor was there to be any bias from the book by Stephen King that it is based on – I’ve not read it – to influence my thoughts on this stage version.
The only thing that was firmly implanted in my memory was that rich and mellifluous voice of Morgan Freeman, who played one of the major roles. I thought, well someone’s never going to replicate that – but more on that later.
I had a little more time to ruminate on it as there was a minor hitch at curtain up. It did go up, part way, then came down again, a couple of times, and the house lights came back up. After whatever gremlins had high-tailed it as the safety curtain was lifted, and an announcement apologising for the delay, we were off about ten minutes after the scheduled start – and happily there were no more glitches.
The audience soon settled into their immersion in the murky world of the “Shank” and its occupants, a motley crew of cons and guards all finding their own way through each day of confinement in the powder-keg environment of prison. And a grim-looking one at that, courtesy of the realistic set, sounds and lighting.
An admirable cast of believable characters to a one brought the story of Andy Dufresne (Joe McFadden), handed a double life sentence for the brutal murders of his wife and her lover, despite his protests to the contrary, to life. Incarcerated in the notorious Shawshank facility, he quickly learns that no one can survive alone.
Andy strikes up an unlikely friendship with the prison fixer Ellis “Red” Redding (Ben Onwukwe), and things start to take a slight turn for the better. However, when Warden Stammas (Bill Ward) decides to bully Andy into subservience and exploit his talents for accountancy, a desperate plan is quietly hatched.
“Enjoyment” is an odd word to use when a play’s scenes can have you, at times, squirming in your seat and feeling repulsed, but enjoy it I did. The audience was as rapt as I was as events unfolded.
Back to that earlier Morgan Freeman mention … Onwukwe has that same measured and resonant baritone that makes for a fantastic delivery of the narration of much of the show. It speaks to you about trust, friendship and hope that can amazingly be found even in the claustrophobic confines of a maximum-security penitentiary.
Even if you have recently rewatched the film; read the 1982 novella, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, by King, or the whole story is completely unknown to you, the show is a must-see, in my book. And that forgotten ending?
It’s a joy and brought the audience to their feet. The Shawshank Redemption runs at Hull New Theatre until Saturday, October 25.
The performance on Thursday, October 23, 7.30pm, is audio described. Age guidance on the play is 12+