The Shawshank Redemption At Edinburgh Festival Theatre Review

Reviewed by Lynsey

Bill Kenwright presents this magnificent adaption of the classic 1994 movie. Often cited as one of the greatest movies of all-time it is based on a short story written by Stephen King.

The production is about a banker who is incarcerated in the notorious Shawshank prison for the double murder of his wife and her golf pro husband. The story follows the ups and downs of Andy Dufresne’s prison life over 20 years. Although continuously proclaiming his innocence Andy learns to adapt to his new life and strikes up important friendships with fellow inmates and arrangements with the Warden and prison guards. That all lead him to follow an unexpected plan.

Being a huge fan of the movie, I was really excited about seeing the stage production. It took me a little while to warm to the characters but once I had I was completely immersed in the story. Joe Absolom who plays Andy and Ben Onwukwe who plays his unlikely friend Red lead the rest of the cast to really bring the gritty and at times difficult to watch storylines very much to life. Joe Absololm really tries to bring out Andy’s quietly confident demur and Coulter Dittman is really likeable as the not so bright Tommy Williams.

There are some tough plots in this story, and I think as the production went on the characters were believable and had you captured in what was going to happen next. There was a real sense of sadness at points as well as joy, and you really felt the friendship between Andy and Red blossom. The cast has a hard job to life up to the movie expectation, but I think they did incredibly well. And with the standing ovation at the end, I guess my fellow audience felt the same.

The simple set and costume design compliments the complicated and intense storylines perfectly. And I really enjoyed the soundtrack, each of the songs were perfect in helping set the scene and bring a little life to what at times is a quite and sombre stage.

The Festival Theatre itself is a well maintained, clean, modern and very spacious theatre with a few bars to choose from which would provide a nice space to socialise before and during the interval of the show. It also has a café on the ground floor where you can grab a coffee and a small bite to eat beforehand. Being in the city centre it also has an array of bars and restaurants around it for pre and post show drinks and food. It is easily accessible by public transport and is surrounded by on street parking however spaces close by can at times be difficult to find. Like the theatre itself. There is also plenty of friendly staff on hand to help.

I really enjoyed my evening watching an all-time favourite movie come to life so amazingly well. It is not the fainthearted however and for adult audiences only, but I would absolutely recommend to friends and family.

Rating: I give this production a 5 out of 5.

The show is on from Tuesday 25th April 2023 until Saturday 29th April 2023

Tickets cost from £25.00

For more information or to book tickets please visit The Shawshank Redemption (capitaltheatres.com)