There is much about Stephen King’s novella The Shawshank Redemption that is suited to a stage adaptation, the action taking place in the claustrophobic rooms of a prison, its narrative driven by the relations between inmates, guards, and parole officers. This high-profile adaptation at The Assembly Rooms is a proficient but rather unremarkable production which is overshadowed by Frank Darabont’s superlative 1994 film.
Andy Dufresne is a banker who finds himself imprisoned for the murder of his wife and her lover, a crime he claims he did not commit. Dufresne finds that he is different from the other inmates and swiftly begins to involve himself in the prison’s finances as a means of gaining power and respect. He’s subjected to brutal sexual attacks from other prisoners and finds that his actions have implications for the lives of the whole group.
Kyle Secor’s Dufresne maintains a consistent sense of self-righteousness, intelligently and often comically outwitting the guards and parole officers. He lacks vulnerability though, and despite being raped and beaten remains persistent in his idealism. Omid Djalili, who plays Red, Dufresne’s closest friend in the prison, is used as a narrator. Consequently, his character becomes more centred upon his relationship with the audience than with Dufresne. Djalili is adept, but never exposes himself - it’s very safe acting that doesn’t really deliver emotionally.
In fact, this is a consistent problem in the production; there is little emotional and psychological claustrophobia on this huge stage. Director Lucy Pitman-Wallace and designer Gary McCann have tried to create different smaller room spaces by re-arranging five (very wobbly) tall cell-structures. None of these different setups is particularly imaginative and often some half-hearted projection is put over the top which doesn’t line up on the screens and is amateurish and unnecessary. Given that so much is left to the audience’s imagination, we can cope without projected books in a library. A lot of the staging is problematic, as from where I was sitting I was unable to see any of the actors when they weren’t standing up.
The production is very watchable and entertaining enough, but I can’t help but feel that this has more to do with the quality of King’s story than anything that this adaptation in particular has done to it. For a production with such a large creative team, I expected something with a more interesting vision.
For a high-end Fringe show, with a higher-end price tag, The Shawshank Redemption doesn’t particularly impress. It’s safe and competent, but rarely exciting, emotional, or innovative.
