Shawshank Redmption is widely regarded as one of the great movies ever made, so for fans of the film you’ll be pleased to find out that you’ll be able to see it live with a new production of the theatre adaptation which will be going on tour throughout the UK later this year. The play will attempt to recreate the raw power, emotion and intensity of the performances of Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins in the now classic film, giving it pretty big prison boots to fill.
The UK tour will be starting off with dates in August 2015 at the Theatre Royal in Windsor, before heading out to eleven more theatres, including it’s closing run at the New Theatre in Cardiff from the 23rd-28th November 2015. You can see the full list of tour dates and times below. Ticket prices vary between locations, but range between £13 for the cheap seats up to £35 for the more expensive spaces, but the majority are in the region of £25-£27 for good mid range seats.
While the majority of us will be pretty familiar with the story of the movie, fewer might be aware of the fact that it is based on a Stephen King novella called Rita Hayworth And The Shawshank Redemption, and fewer still that it takes a lot from the Leo Tolstoy short story, God Sees The Truth, But Waits. For anyone that hasn’t seen it yet, or read any of the books, we’ll try not to give too much away, as it’s too good for us to spoil it for you, but the play could be a good option, if you’ve struggled to get around to watching the film.
It traces the story of mild-mannered Andy Dufresne, who finds himself incarcerated in the unforgiving US penitentiary, Shawshank Prison, having been given a double life sentence for the murder of his wife and the man she was having an affair with. Despite his protestations of innocence, his conviction remains unwavering and life in Shawshank becomes oppressive in the extreme, but a friendship with the prison fixer Red brings at least some level of distraction, but with heavy handed prison wardens and vicious fellow inmates to contend with it’s a hard road to redemption.
The movie was first adapted into a play in 2009 by Owen O’Neill and Dave Johns and it’s this adaptation that the 2015 theatre tour production is based on, building on the West End success of the play at the Wyndhams Theatre. The writers were keen to stress that the adaptation was based more on the Stephen King novella than the Frank Darabont film.
The Shawshank Redmption UK tour is being produced by Bill Kenwright, who splits his efforts between theatre and his role as the chairman of Everton Football Club. He’s well known for big name West End hits like Blood Brothers, but he’s started to move into the movie business with new film, Broken starring Tim Roth.
Shawshank Redemption UK tour dates:
18th – 29th August 2015
Theatre Royal, Windsor
Ticket office – 01753 853888
Ticket prices – £13-£35
Show time – 8pm Mon-Sat, Thursday matinee at 2:30pm and Saturday matinee at 4:45pm
31st August – 5th September 2015
Grand Theatre, Leeds
Ticket office – 0844 848 2700
Ticket prices – £18.50-£35.00
Show time – 7:30pm Mon-Sat, Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2:30pm
7th – 12th September 2015
Theatre Royal, Brighton
Ticket office – 0844 871 7627
Ticket prices – £12.90 – £37.90
Show time – 7:45pm Mon-Sat, Thursday and Saturday matinees at 2:30pm
14th – 19th September 2015
Richmond Theatre, Richmond, London
Ticket office – 0844 871 7651
Ticket prices – £12.90-£48.40
Show time – 7:30pm Mon-Sat, Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2:30pm
28th September – 3rd October 2015
New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham
Ticket office – 0844 871 3011
Ticket prices – £12.90-£37.90
Show time – 7:30pm Mon-Sat, Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2:30pm
5th – 10th October 2015
Kings Theatre, Edinburgh
Ticket office – 0131 529 6000
Ticket prices – £15-£30.50
Show time – 7:30pm Mon-Sat, Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2:30pm
12th – 17th October 2015
His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen
Ticket office – 01224 641122
Ticket prices – £22.50-£32.50
Show time – 7:30pm Mon-Sat, Thursday matinee at 2pm and Saturday matinee at 2:30pm
19th – 24th October 2015
Theatre Royal, Newcastle
Ticket office – 0844 811 2121
Ticket prices – from £14.00
Show time – 7:30pm Mon-Sat, Thursday matinee at 2pm and Saturday matinee at 2:30pm
26th – 31st October 2015
Theatre Royal, Norwich
Ticket office – 01603 63 00 00
Ticket prices – £8-£27
Show time – 7:30pm Mon-Sat, Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2:30pm
2nd – 7th November 2015
Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham
Ticket office – 01242 572573
Ticket prices – TBC
Show time – TBC
9th – 14th November 2015
New Victoria Theatre, Woking
Ticket office – 0844 871 7652
Ticket prices – TBC
Show time – TBC
16th – 21st November 2015
Milton Keynes Theatre
Ticket office – 0844 871 7652
Ticket prices – £12.90-£37.90
Show time – 7:30pm Mon-Sat, Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2:30pm
23rd – 28th November 2015
New Theatre, Cardiff
Ticket office – 029 2087 8889
Ticket prices – £9.50-£30.50
Show time – 7:30pm Mon-Sat, Thursday and Saturday matinees at 2:30pm
