The Shawshank Redemption at Leeds Grand Theatre Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW’
Reviewed by Jenny Bray
I’m not sure I would have thought that a maximum security prison would make a great setting for a whole show, but then I thought about others like Chicago that also work. There are minimal characters in this show yet the story runs smoothly throughout, with characters coming and going while it develops around the key people.
I wasn’t aware that the film, and therefore then this production, had been based on a book by Stephen King. Although the story is a little dark, it’s not on the same level of dark horror I’d associate with Stephen King. He was nearly 10 years into writing when he produced a collection of short stories, of which The Shawshank Redemption was one. Although the film, from 1994, is now widely known and acclaimed it wasn’t an immediate hit and took a while before it gained popularity. This stage production adaptation has been around since 2009.
The story is a well known one of Andy Dufresne (Joe McFadden), who is convicted of the murder of his wife and lover and placed in a top security prison, Shawshank, but continues to claim innocence throughout his incarceration. He strikes up a slightly unlikely friendship with Ellis ‘Red’ Redding (Ben Onwukwe) who is the prisoner’s wheeler dealer, able to source most items for people if at the right price.
Brooksie (Kenneth Jay) is a lovable character that it would be hard not to warm to. He is getting old and is riddled with arthritis but just wants to be responsible for the small library on wheels that he has run for years in Shawshank, as he is told he won’t have access to the library if he is released on parole.
Andy starts off being an outsider and being picked on during his time in prison. However, he is good with financial matters and ends up advising the guards on tax and finances, ending up working the books for the warden (Bill Ward) in exchange for support and protection. However, there remains a huge power struggle between these two and generally between the guards and the prisoners, with guards exerting excessive violence and power over the prisoners to keep them in track.
At times Red is like a narrator, talking through how stories have continued so we know what happened even when they aren’t played out on the stage. I felt that this worked really well.
Tommy (Kyle Harrison-Pope) is a welcome introduction in the second half, bringing a whole new angle to the storyline and someone for Andy to mentor to pass his basic level education.
I wasn’t expecting the show to start with three nearly naked men centre stage with spotlights on them, being admitted to the prison and being jeered at by current inmates about which will break first!
The stage setting is, not surprisingly, a prison setting. The sides of the stage are doors to cells with the main area being transformed between being the dining area, the outside area, the parole room, the library etc. with different backdrops and props wheeled on and off. It’s quite grey and dark, again as to be expected of a prison, so works well.
Costumes are jeans and blue shirts for prisoners and full prison ward uniform for the prison guards, with the main warden in a blue suit.
It was refreshing to see older cast members in full parts rather than the stage just being full of youngsters.
The one thing that didn’t quite work tonight was the sound levels. They improved slightly in the second half but were still a little too quiet. There isn’t a lot of background noise going on during most of the scenes, but you could also hear someone many rows away moving in their seat and other similar noises from the audience, which sometimes stopped you hearing the cast in full, which was a shame.
Leeds Grand Theatre is in central Leeds, with plenty of parking nearby, including Templar Street car park, which is a short walk away. There are bus lanes until 7pm around there so you need to be careful which route you take to get to the car park.
It’s not exactly uplifting most of the time, there are several somewhat grim things depicted even when not fully shown (including violence, group rape, talk of suicide, homophobia and corruption to name a few) so this isn’t all lighthearted and I wouldn’t recommend it for children (guidance is 14+). However, it is a very interesting show, which is well worth going to, as long as you are aware of the content. There are short bursts of music between scenes which provide a brief uplift at times. This show follows the book more closely than the film so don’t go expecting a carbon copy of the film, as this is slightly different.
Rating: 4.5/5
Tickets cost from £25.50 to £52.50
The Shawshank Redemption is on at the Leeds Grand between 19th and 23rd May 2026.
For more information or to book tickets visit;
https://leedsheritagetheatres.com/whats-on/the-shawshank-redemption-2026/#book
or call the Box Office on 0113 2430808
Leeds Grand Theatre box office; 46 New Briggate, Leeds, LS1 6NU