Shawshank play is ideal for escapists

Adapted from Stephen King’s 1982 novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, the 1994 film, starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, was nominated for seven Oscars.

It’s about successful banker Andy Dufresne who, after being convicted of murdering his wife and her lover, is sent to Shawshank Prison where he endures a cruel and corrupt regime.

He befriends Red, another lifer, and whiles away the time by carving figures out of rocks he finds in the prison yard, and makes himself useful to the guards by giving them financial and tax advice.

All the time, he is making a long-term plan to escape that involves the cunning use of a Rita Hayworth poster ...

The play has been adapted for the stage by Owen O’Neill and Dave Johns; Kevin Anderson takes the lead role, Reg E Cathey appears as his prison buddy Red and Peter Sheridan directs.

4 Sept 2009-14 Feb 2010 (0844 482 5125, www.theshawshank redemption.co.uk).

The Shawshank Redemption
Wyndham's Theatre
Charing Cross Road, WC2H 0DA