You must to see this film

Rating: 10/10 (7 January 2016)

A story of friendship and endurance set in the reality of prison life, The Shawshank Redemption is best known as an Oscar-nominated film. However, this theatre production is based instead on the original novella written by Stephen King relatively early in his career.
The direction in this piece is stylised, with a deliberate slow rhythm and pace, particularly in the first act, greatly reducing any sense of menace that you would expect from this so-called tough prison. It is almost Brechtian in style. This becomes frustrating as it takes much of the emotion out of the production; a vital piece of the human connection that then means the audience is less invested in the outcome of the possibly innocent Andy Dufresne and the lovable rouge Red. This underplaying of emotion results in a restrained and difficult to engage with character in Dufresne, played by Ian Kelsey. There are moments of anguish from Kelsey, but with the direction holding such a tight reign on the characters, the moments are too far and between. Patrick Robinson's Red fares a little better as he addresses the audience with a charming older storytelling voice, but is still not given enough freedom to truly embrace Red's charisma. When using this deliberate stylised direction, the impact on the reality of the stage fighting also showed, again detracting from the idea of brutality.
The second half picks up the pace slightly and the play overall is watchable with good performances all round from the cast. However, without the rawness derived from emotional context, the prison life never feels as if it is unbearable to be in or watch, meaning the power of the ending is lessened.
By Isabella Fraser