(AD – PRESS NIGHT) THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION HULL REVIEW
TUESDAY 21ST OCTOBER 2025 @ 7.30PM
HULL NEW THEATRE
⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5
Since 1994, The Shawshank Redemption has been a favourite film amongst many. With its latest UK tour, it was time for me to see it for myself on a stage. Here’s my The Shawshank Redemption Hull review.
PRE-SHOW THOUGHTS
Would it be ridiculous to say that I’ve actually never seen the film? When I knew the tour was coming to Hull, I purposely made sure not to watch it to see if the story made sense on stage. It happens to be one of my dad’s favourite movies, though, so I took him along as my plus one for the night. We also treat ourselves to a Chinese buffet meal beforehand, which later gave me food poisoning, but that’s a whole other story!
THE CAST
We begin the show with our narrator, Red, played by Ben Onwukwe. This is the role played by Morgan Freeman in the film, which I imagine is huge pressure on an actor when you know the audience will be comparing. Onwukwe is outstanding in this role, commanding the stage whenever he’s on. He has that sort of calm and steady presence. That steers the show in the right direction from start to finish.
The other ‘lead’ role, Andy Dufresne, is played by Joe McFadden, off of Holby City and Heartbeat. I know him better from Strictly, but he’s a phenomenal actor. It’s quite an understated portrayal of someone in prison, but you genuinely believe that he believes that he’s innocent. There’s quite a range of emotions to this role, which McFadden excels in. You see him in quite a vulnerable state, which shocks you as the audience.
Bill Ward plays Warden Stammas, the man who oversees the Shawshank prison. He’s always been excellent at playing the villain, even back in his soapstar days. He also has a commanding presence on stage. However, it feels a little more sinister than the rest of the cast, probably because he’s the man in charge.
I think my favourite role was Brooksie, played by Kenneth Jay. There aren’t many roles in the theatre for older men, and there’s one scene in particular in the second act that gave me a lump in my throat.
Half of the cast have also appeared in The Bill at some point in their careers, which makes them excellent actors in my eyes. It’s probably my favourite British TV show of all time!
THE PRODUCTION
For someone seeing her first play, I was surprised at just how easy the story was to follow. Being a musical fan, I’m used to the songs leading the plot rather than just dialogue, so it was a change! Both the monologues and group scenes all felt natural, and the dialogue was very of its time.
The set design was simply the prison walls with the use of a couple of dropped curtains for the warden’s office and Andy’s cell. In fact, other than tables, chairs and a book cart, there were very few pieces on the set, meaning they didn’t detract from the acting.
The only negatives I had were that sometimes the microphones would go in and out, along with the odd spotlight. However, other than that, it felt like the stage was turned into a real-life prison. On the other hand, my dad wasn’t as impressed as me because of the plot changes compared to the film. Whilst he commended the actors, he wasn’t the biggest fan of the chronological aspect of the play. However, we thought those choices might have been made to stay truer to the short story, which neither of us has read. That didn’t stop him from enjoying his night out, though!
FINAL THOUGHTS
Considering it’s the first play I’ve ever seen on stage, it was a great first impression. Maybe some scenes could’ve been padded out or some extra character depth added, but it also felt like just the right length for a play.
The cast got a standing ovation for several minutes, and they looked genuinely thrilled with the response! Whilst it wasn’t a full audience, it was an appreciative and attentive one! I felt like I took something from the play, too, which is always a great response!
The Shawshank Redemption is showing in Hull until the weekend. Next, it’s moving to Brighton and a whole host of 2026 dates. If you enjoyed my The Shawshank Redemption Hull review, you can find my other theatre reviews here. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok too.
