“Get busy living or get busy dying.”
A stage version of the classic prison movie The Shawshank Redemption is coming to The Gaiety Theatre in Dublin this May.
Based on Stephen King’s novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, the play will premiere in the Irish capital following a successful UK tour that began last autumn. The Gaiety run will see Joe Absolom of Doc Martin and Eastenders fame continue in the role of wrongly convicted prisoner Andy Dufresne, while Ben Onwukwe (Marcella, Safe) will play Andy’s inmate Ellis ‘Red’ Redding.
The 1994 film version of the story starred Tim Robbins as Andy and Morgan Freeman as Red. The movie received seven Oscar nominations and has gone on to be considered one of the most beloved movies of all time. It currently holds the number one spot in IMDB’s top 100 films of all time list.
The Shawshank Redemption at The Gaiety
Adapted by Owen O’Neill and Dave Johns, the plot synopsis for the play reads:
“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 will be performed at the Gaiety from 1 – 13 May. Tickets from €21.50 are now on sale from Ticketmaster.
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