REVIEW: The Shawshank Redemption, Mayflower Theatre
By Hilary Porter
THE 1994 Oscar Award winning film The Shawshank Redemption, based on Stephen King's 1982 novella, is still regularly voted the nation’s favourite film so would the stage show live up to our high expectations or would it rattle our chains ?
Last night's Mayflower opening night performance ultimately proved a triumph keeping us captive for the often tense and emotional two-hour stretch but I fear any staging will for ever live in the shadow of the big screen epic.
This was, however an impressive production, brilliantly staged with an outstanding cast.
Staying faithful to King's book, the production follows Andy Dufresne, the wrongly incarcerated banker handed a double life sentence for the brutal murder of his wife and her lover, who is sent to the notorious Shawshank penitentiary.
And here the thorny story of corruption, injustice, hope, frustration, anxiety, longing, and friendship unfolds within the claustrophobic walls of a maximum security facility.
It's gritty and it's brutal with an all-male cast who act out testosterone-charged physical fights and even gang rape.
The gloomy desperation that prevails almost right to the end is peppered with moments of light comedy but our spirits are finally lifted as hope wins the day.
Paul Nicholls, best known as heart throb Joe Wicks in EastEnders, plays an unflappable, reserved yet smart, Andy who is unflinching in his protests of innocence. Considering the physical and emotional abuse thrown at him his coolness seems a little far-fetched at times but it is a fresh and convincing performance.
Of course his character strikes up an unlikely friendship with the prison fixer Red ( also narrator),
with the excellent Ben Onwukwe (best remembered as Stuart ‘Recall’ McKenzie in London’s Burning), stepping admirably into the very big prison boots of movie legend Morgan Freeman.
And then there is the almost tangible evil presence of Warden Stammas - brought vividly to life by Jack Ellis ( who played prison warder Jim Fenner in ITV's Bad Girls) who decides to bully Andy into subservience and exploit his talents for accountancy.
Into this festering mix is thrown the bullying, sinister ‘Sisters’ who use sex and violence to prey on the weak and satisfy their lust for power.
The simple set captures the dark and claustrophobic existence as the action is confined to the tall and grimy prison walls and only old posters of fading movie stars brightening the gloom. The use of stark lighting with dramatic chiaroscuro effects perfectly capture this hellish existence, whilst music from the era, from the likes of The Beatles, Sam Cooke, Dean Martin, and Janis Joplin, separates scenes marking the passage of time with a chilling irony.
Adapted by Owen O’Neill and Dave Johns, and under the control of director David Esbjornson, the production
does not side-step the harsh brutalities of prison life but fortunately it is lightened with moments of tension-easing laughter in a script adapted for the stage by two stand-up comedians.
The Shawshank Redemption runs at the Mayflower until Saturday October 22. Tickets from Mayflower Theatre Box Office tel: 02380 711811 or online at mayflower.org.uk.
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