Jodie Erica from the MKFM team was very excited to return to MK Theatre last night to see The Shawshank Redemption and here is her review...
I never had the slightest idea that there was a theatre adaptation of The Shawshank Redemption!
I am personally a massive fan of Stephen King's books and films, The Shawshank Redemption is a favourite of mine as the story symbolises hope and justice, similar to the Green Mile... another fantastic Stephen King novel and film.
I was super excited to watch this at MK Theatre but also nervous as I love the film so much, I was worried it may not do it justice but oh, how I was wrong!
There was 12 characters throughout the show, and each and every actor played their characters fantastically! They all had their own distinctive personality traits, everything was spot on, to the accents to the gestures and expressions, to the laughs (especially Roosters, played by Leigh Jones).
The entire set-up and production were brilliant, everything looked super realistic and detailed, even the costumes and props, I was so impressed.
My emotions were up and down during the play, exactly like they were during the film but, I did feel them a lot stronger in certain emotional scenes because the actors truly portrayed their characters' feelings.
The music intervals between the scenes were great, I loved the feeling of being transported to a different time!
I have to shout out each and every actor for their superb performances last night, Joe Absolom who plays Andy Dufresne, Ben Onwuke who plays Ellis 'Red' Redding, Mark Heenehan who plays Warden Stammas, Kenneth Jay who plays Brooksie, Joe Reisig who plays Hadley, Owen Oldroyd who plays Entwistle, Jay Marsh or plays Bogs Diamond, Leigh Jones who plays Rooster, Jules Brown who plays Rico, Kieran Garland who plays Dawkins, Coulter Dittman who plays Tommy Williams, and Samarge Hamilton who plays Kelly.
The ending really got me emotional when Red reunites with Andy, so wholesome, Joe and Ben really smashed it out of the park.
I would definitely watch this again and also recommend any other local Stephen King fans to give this a chance and experience it live!
If you haven’t got tickets yet, you can still book now and you will not be disappointed!
See further performance dates here.
Tickets: From £13*
General bookings: 0844 871 7615*
Access bookings: 0333 009 5399
Group bookings: 0207 206 1174
Online Booking: ATGTICKETS.COM/MiltonKeynes*
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