THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION

Theatre Royal Windsor

★★★★

“Director David Esbjornson lures us into this world before slamming the doors and keeping us captive – and captivated – for the next two hours”

Stephen King’s short story, on which the stage adaptation of “The Shawshank Redemption” is based, was titled ‘Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption’. We only learn the significance of the reference to the star of the Golden Age of Hollywood in the final moments of the play, but it is an uplifting moment which epitomises the feelings of joy and hope that pop up in what is essentially a grim and desperate setting.

Set in the maximum-security wing of the Shawshank penitentiary, Owen O’Neill’s and Dave Johns’ epic interpretation spans a couple of decades with its tale of a man wrongfully imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit. That man is Andy Dufresne, wonderfully played by Joe McFadden with a mixture of vulnerability and bravado, who uses his well-heeled banking background to ingratiate himself with the other inmates and the guards. It is a precarious tightrope he walks, and he frequently falls into the pit of violence and backstabbing that is prevalent – particularly among the warden and the guards who are just as crooked as the prisoners.

Director David Esbjornson lures us into this world before slamming the doors and keeping us captive – and captivated – for the next two hours. Gary McCann’s stark two-tiered set creates the prison day room with its balcony from which other prisoners – and prison guards – watch, heckle and interrupt the action below. The audience feel part of that assembly, encouraged by long-term jailbird Ellis ‘Red’ Redding who acts as narrator. Crossing the line between stage and auditorium, Ben Onwukwe gives a remarkable performance as ‘Red’, the prison ‘fixer’ who somehow manages to get whatever contraband his cell mates require. Onwukwe somehow manages to secure our sympathy too, which fills us with a guilty pleasure as we wonder how it is possible to warm to a man who is a self-confessed double murderer.

But then we wonder who the real villains of the piece are. Warden Stammas takes self-interest to extremes as he ignores justice, law and morality to serve his own agenda, willingly dispensing with others’ lives and freedoms. Owen Oldroyd (stepping in for Bill Ward who plays Stammas for the rest of the run) captures the cool menace as he wields his power with a deceptive stillness. The prison hierarchy is vividly illustrated with the peripheral characters establishing their own powerful personalities. Sean Kingsley’s intimidating ‘Bogs Diamond’ and sidekick ‘Rooster’ (a wonderful Ashley D Gale complete with a sinister hyena-like cackle) form the ‘sisters’ who attempt to hold sway through sexual violence. Meanwhile there is Kenneth Jay’s ‘Brooksie’, the librarian who cuts a tragic figure so institutionalised he can’t cope with his parole. Through all of this, the central figure of Andy Dufrense maintains his own innocence. McFadden never lets his character give up despite the odds, taking the knocks with understated defiance and an inbuilt sense of optimism. A vestige of hope comes in the form of Tommy (Kyle Harrison-Pope) who claims he knows the real culprit behind the murders for which Andy was accused. Tragedy soon dashes that hope.

The structure is episodic and time passes in fits and starts. Suddenly a decade can fly by without us noticing, but Onwukwe is on hand to give us context. Chris Davey’s lighting certainly gives us the sense of place with its cool washes – panoramic and moody but concentrated when necessary. Sepulchral spotlights surrounded by shadows evocatively display the isolation. Faultless performances highlight, when not in their solitary confinement, the precarious camaraderie that exists, although occasionally the bonhomie can eclipse the true sense of danger and brutality. But even if the physical savagery doesn’t quite come across, the potency is shocking. “The Shawshank Redemption” is an enthralling picture of this world, and how people adjust to it, whether they are placed there justifiably or not. ‘Redemption’ is a double-edged sword. I’m not going to tell you if it lives up to its title, but I’d strongly urge you to find out.