Casting has been announced for the forthcoming UK tour of The Shawshank Redemption, the stage adaptation of Stephen King’s 1982 book.
The tour starts at the Theatre Royal Windsor on 3 September, and then visits Darlington, Truro, Blackpool, Belfast, Manchester, Lichfield, Hull, New Brighton, Wales, Edinburgh, Poole, Bath, Peterborough, Billingham, and Leeds. See all tour dates here.
The Shawshank Redemption will star Joe McFadden (Heartbeat) as Andy Dufresne, with Ben Onwukwe (Professor T) as Ellis “Red” Redding, and Bill Ward (Coronation Street) as Stammas.
The cast is completed by Graham Elwell (Bryan Hadley), Ashley D Gayle (Rooster), Jeffrey Harmer (Entwistle), Kyle Harrison-Pope (Tommy Williams), Kenneth Jay (Brooksie), Sean Kingsley (Bogs Diamond), Fernando Mariano (Rico), Aein Nasseri (Nelson) and Owen Oldroyd (Dawkins).
Adapted by Owen O’Neill and Dave Johns, and directed by David Esbjornson, the play examines desperation, injustice, friendship and hope behind the claustrophobic bars of a maximum-security facility.
The creative team also includes Associate Director Tim Welton, design by Gary McCann, lighting design by Chris Davey, and sound design by Andy Graham.
The 1994 movie version of The Shawshank Redemption starred Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, and was nominated for seven Academy Awards.
In the story, despite protests of his innocence, Andy Dufresne is handed a double life sentence for the brutal murder of his wife and her lover. Incarcerated at the notorious Shawshank facility, he quickly learns that no one can survive alone. Andy strikes up an unlikely friendship with the prison fixer Red, and things take a slight turn for the better. However, when Warden Stammas decides to bully Andy into subservience and exploit his talents for accountancy, a desperate plan is quietly hatched…
The Shawshank Redemption is produced by Bill Kenwright Ltd.
Book tickets to The Shawshank Redemption – UK Tour
More about the cast
Joe McFadden
Joe McFadden’s TV credits include Sex, Chips & Rock’n’Roll, PC Joe Mason in Heartbeat and Raf in Holby City. He competed in the 2017 season of Strictly Come Dancing winning the Glitterball Trophy with professional partner Katya Jones. On stage, recent credits include 2:22 at the Gielgud Theatre and UK tours of The Rocky Horror Show and Agatha Christie’s The Mirror Crack’d.
Ben Onwukwe
Boasting a 30-year stage career, Ben Onwukwe has seen leading roles with the RSC and the Royal Court, as well as 11 years on TV as Recall McKenzie in London’s Burning and, more recently, the role of Jackson Donckers in Professor T. He reprises his critically acclaimed performance as Ellis “Red” Redding in The Shawshank Redemption, which he first played in the production’s 2016 tour.
Bill Ward
Bill Ward is best known for his long-running performances as Charlie Stubbs in Coronation Street and James Barton in Emmerdale. Theatre credits include Everyone’s Talking About Jamie, Million Dollar Quartet and Spamalot in the West End. Most recently he bared all as Gerald in the UK tour of The Full Monty.
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Ben Onwukwe in The Shawshank Redemption
Bill Ward in The Shawshank Redemption
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