The Shawshank Redemption Festival Theatre Edinburgh April 2023 Review
The Shawshank Redemption is at the Festival Theatre Edinburgh this week (Mon 24 to Sat 29 April) and if you are a fan of Stephen King’s 1982 novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, or the 1994 film (starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman) then try not to miss this show, as this stage adaptation has captured the essence of this story of darkest despair and eventual triumph so well.
Adapting any book or film to the stage is always going to be a bit of a compromise for many different reasons but, always, stories set in a single room or space (for the most part) seem to make the most effective transitions. To do this with any dramatic power on stage though, this story has to be one that involves an audience in what is happening and has characters that are identifiable enough for people to care what is happening to them. To do this last part of the equation you need actors who have the skill to not only bring their character to life, but also the ability to draw you into their world, into their story, and in The Shawshank Redemption all of these elements come together seamlessly.
Shawshank prison is a bleak place where brutality from prison guards and other prisoners is simply a daily part of life. This is a place of no hope, a place of survival of the fittest, and those in authority not only turn a blind eye to gang rapes by inmates on other inmates, they actively encourage this and many other abuses as a means of punishment and control of the whole environment.
Creating a sense of the greyness, the hopelessness and sheer bleakness of Shawshank prison is achieved by a very good stage set and design (Gary McCann) and very effective and often subtle sound and lighting design (Andy Graham and Chris Davey). With tight direction from David Esbjornson, a believable world of despair and gradual loss of the prisoners’ identity, even humanity, has been created for this story to unfold in.
At its core, Shawshank Redemption is a story of the unlikely friendship between one long time prisoner Ellis “Red” Redding (Ben Onwukwe) and a new inmate arrival whom no one can really ever figure out, Andy Dufresne (Joe Absolom). Both are exceptional here in the portrayal of their characters, and the strange friendship that evolves over the many years in Shawshank eventually develops into mutual respect for one another, and Ben and Joe make this bond believable on stage. Here, as in the film and the book, “Red” is also the narrator and Ben Onwukwe has to be given credit for giving this production so much of its emotional depth, and his final scenes will move even the coldest of hearts in some way or another.
All of the core inmates of this story are here, including “The Three Sisters” and although some of their scenes are harrowing, they are skilfully handled and often leave our imagination to fill in the gaps on stage. Theatre’s ability to involve an audience and its imagination in a way that no other media can do is also put to very effective use in the only outdoor scene of this story.
Who are the real villains in Shawshank though, the prisoners incarcerated there for their many different crimes or those who are supposed to be in charge of their eventual redemption and release back into society? That is a big question, and Mark Heenehan as Warden Stammas and Joe Reisig as the brutal prison guard Hadley both give strong performances that leave no doubt where abuse of power can lead to.
The Shawshank Redemption is exactly what the title tells us, a message that hope, even in the bleakest of places and circumstances, can somehow still survive, a reminder why it was the only thing left in Pandora’s Box, and there is a very different feel to this production both in story, performances and stage production between Act I and Act II that somehow captures this elusive change to very good effect.
This production is simply what dramatic theatre can do when a good story, good actors and a good creative team come together to take us all into their created world for a few hours.
Review by Tom King © 2023
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
Adapting any book or film to the stage is always going to be a bit of a compromise for many different reasons but, always, stories set in a single room or space (for the most part) seem to make the most effective transitions. To do this with any dramatic power on stage though, this story has to be one that involves an audience in what is happening and has characters that are identifiable enough for people to care what is happening to them. To do this last part of the equation you need actors who have the skill to not only bring their character to life, but also the ability to draw you into their world, into their story, and in The Shawshank Redemption all of these elements come together seamlessly.
Shawshank prison is a bleak place where brutality from prison guards and other prisoners is simply a daily part of life. This is a place of no hope, a place of survival of the fittest, and those in authority not only turn a blind eye to gang rapes by inmates on other inmates, they actively encourage this and many other abuses as a means of punishment and control of the whole environment.
Creating a sense of the greyness, the hopelessness and sheer bleakness of Shawshank prison is achieved by a very good stage set and design (Gary McCann) and very effective and often subtle sound and lighting design (Andy Graham and Chris Davey). With tight direction from David Esbjornson, a believable world of despair and gradual loss of the prisoners’ identity, even humanity, has been created for this story to unfold in.
At its core, Shawshank Redemption is a story of the unlikely friendship between one long time prisoner Ellis “Red” Redding (Ben Onwukwe) and a new inmate arrival whom no one can really ever figure out, Andy Dufresne (Joe Absolom). Both are exceptional here in the portrayal of their characters, and the strange friendship that evolves over the many years in Shawshank eventually develops into mutual respect for one another, and Ben and Joe make this bond believable on stage. Here, as in the film and the book, “Red” is also the narrator and Ben Onwukwe has to be given credit for giving this production so much of its emotional depth, and his final scenes will move even the coldest of hearts in some way or another.
All of the core inmates of this story are here, including “The Three Sisters” and although some of their scenes are harrowing, they are skilfully handled and often leave our imagination to fill in the gaps on stage. Theatre’s ability to involve an audience and its imagination in a way that no other media can do is also put to very effective use in the only outdoor scene of this story.
Who are the real villains in Shawshank though, the prisoners incarcerated there for their many different crimes or those who are supposed to be in charge of their eventual redemption and release back into society? That is a big question, and Mark Heenehan as Warden Stammas and Joe Reisig as the brutal prison guard Hadley both give strong performances that leave no doubt where abuse of power can lead to.
The Shawshank Redemption is exactly what the title tells us, a message that hope, even in the bleakest of places and circumstances, can somehow still survive, a reminder why it was the only thing left in Pandora’s Box, and there is a very different feel to this production both in story, performances and stage production between Act I and Act II that somehow captures this elusive change to very good effect.
This production is simply what dramatic theatre can do when a good story, good actors and a good creative team come together to take us all into their created world for a few hours.
Review by Tom King © 2023
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com