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The Shawshank Redemption at the Winter Gardens Blackpool Review

shawshankredemption2016The Shawshank Redemption
Winter Gardens, Blackpool

14-19 November 2016

www.wintergardensblackpool.co.uk

Reviewed by Catherine Joyce

Based on a short story by Stephen King, The Shawshank Redemption was made into a hit film in 1994 starring Morgan Freeman. Now adapted for the stage, by Owen O’Neill and Dave Johns and directed by David Esbjornson, the play tells the story of an innocent man, Andy Dufresne (played by Paul Nicholls) who is given two life sentences for the murder of his wife and her lover and then sent to the Shawshank State Penitentiary. There he meets and befriends fellow inmate and prison “fixer” Ellis “Red” Redding (Ben Onwukwe) who helps him adjust to the brutal physical and mental ill treatment that is part of prison life. Sadistic and corrupt warden Stammas wants to use Andy’s accountancy skills to help him launder prison money which he goes along with to help make prison life bearable.

This often violent tale of hope against adversity is set inside a maximum security jail. Not only must Dufresne learn to survive the brutality of the prison guards but he also endures the violence of fellow inmates. The handling of the gang rape by the “sisters” was always going to be a tricky scene to portray but was very well handled and lost none of its impact.

The set is very impressive, the walls are shabby and lighting is effective in highlighting the claustrophobic feel of the prison.

This all male cast of 12 was very strong, unfortunately at times the sound was muffled and it was difficult to hear the dialogue though this did improve as the night went on. Whilst Red befriends  Andy, Ben plays the role with a sharp edge, he is after all a triple murderer in a high security prison.

Paul Nicholls is very convincing playing the role of the mild banker, never losing hope and patiently biding his time whilst Jack Ellis, who has previous experience playing prison officer Jim Fenner in Bad Girls, portrays the vile prison warden Stammas with ease.

The play is set over a period of almost 20 years and whilst the actors don’t age music is used to help give the impression of the passage of time, Red also offers Andy a Raquel Welch poster to replace that of Rita Hayworth as the decade changes from the 50’s to the 60’s.

As a fan of the film, I wasn’t sure how it would translate to the stage. Would the plot be over-simplified? How would the ending be portrayed?

If I’m being picky, perhaps the warden’s comeuppance was glossed over a little too quickly and the final scene was a little awkward as the scenery seemed to stick but my husband, who has never seen the film, really enjoyed the story and didn’t need me to explain what was going on. Overall I felt the story had been adapted skilfully and lost none of its impact.

We went to see the production at the world famous Blackpool Opera House, an impressive theatre seating almost 3000 in the centre of Blackpool. The theatre is easy to get to with plenty of parking nearby, either on ground level or multi storey car parks. We paid £3 to park on a nearby car park that was only a few minutes walk away from the theatre.

The Shawshank Redemption is playing at the Winter Gardens until Saturday 19th November and I would recommend this play both to those familiar with the film and those new to the story. We really enjoyed our night out, as did many of the audience with a standing ovation at the end of the play.

Rating: 4.5/5

Tickets cost from £14 to £29 (booking fees may apply).

The Shawshank Redemption is at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool until 19 November 2016. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 0844 856 1111.

Winter Gardens & Opera House Theatre, 97 Church Street, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY1 1HL

4 half Star

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