Joe McFadden & Bill Ward amongst cast for The Shawshank Redemption heading to Lancashire
A trio of top TV stars have now been locked in to star in the captivating new stage production of The Shawshank Redemption heading to Lancashire later this year.
Bill Kenwright Ltd will present the powerful stage adaptation of Stephen King’s legendary short story at Blackpool Grand Theatre from Tuesday, September 23 to Saturday, September 27.
The Shawshank Redemption was famously adapted for the big screen in 1994 starring Tim Robbins as Andy and Morgan Freeman as Red and was nominated for seven Academy Awards.
It still sits at the top of the IMDb chart of 250 Top Movies to this day and is regarded as one of the best films ever made, with The National Film Registry citing the film as “culturally, historically and aesthetically significant”.
What can we expect from The Shawshank Redemption?
This thrilling production powerfully examines desperation, injustice, friendship and hope behind the claustrophobic bars of a maximum-security facility.
Despite protests of his innocence, Andy Dufresne is handed a double life sentence for the brutal murders of his wife and her lover. Incarcerated in 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 start to 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…
Who will star in the show?
The Shawshank Redemption will starring Strictly Come Dancing champion and talented TV actor Joe McFadden (Raf in Holby City, PC Joe Mason in Heartbeat) in the role of the wrongly convicted Andy Dufresne.
Joe McFadden’s many television credits include Sex, Chips & Rock’n’Roll, PC Joe Mason in Heartbeat and Raf in Holby City and Joe also famously competed in the 2017 season of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing and went on to win the glitterball trophy with professional partner Katya Jones.
Recent acclaimed stage credits include 2:22 at the Gielgud Theatre and UK tours of The Rocky Horror Show and Agatha Christie’s The Mirror Crack’d.
Joe will be joined by popular stage and screen actors Ben Onwukwe (Recall McKenzie in London’s Burning) as inmate Ellis ‘Red’ Redding and Bill Ward (Charlie Stubbs in Coronation Street) as the corrupt prison warden Stammas.
Boasting an illustrious 30-year stage career, Ben Onwukwe has been seen in 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 now 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 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 and host recently bared all as Gerald in the UK tour ofThe Full Monty.
The talented cast is completed by top theatre actors 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).
Are tickets on sale?
Yes, tickets for The Shawshank Redemption at Blackpool Grand Theatre are already
Prices start from £15 with concessions for 1894 Club members and Friends of The Grand. Group rates are also available.
You can book online here.
Please call the Grand Theatre Box Office on 01253 290190 or visit www.blackpoolgrand.co.uk for full listings, bookings and further information.