We were kindly invited to opening night of The Shawshank Redemption at the Wycombe Swan last night — and honestly, it’s one of the best things I’ve seen on that stage.
I’ll say it upfront: it is genuinely remarkable that a show of this calibre is playing in High Wycombe. Big names, big performances, and a story so powerful the audience is cheering long before the house lights come up.
Who needs the West End?!
If you haven’t seen the film or read Stephen King’s novella, here’s a quick overview. The Shawshank Redemption follows Andy Dufresne, a bright banker wrongly convicted of murdering his wife and her lover. Over Act I, we watch him navigate the brutal injustice of prison life — sexual violence from fellow inmates, corruption from the Warden and guards — while somehow holding on to something the story never lets go of: hope.
There are moments of real warmth in all that darkness. Andy’s friendship with fellow prisoner and “guy who gets stuff” Red. A campaign of relentless letter-writing that eventually builds a prison library. And a quietly unfolding plan — involving money laundering, the Warden, and Andy’s considerable brains — that gives Act II its extraordinary momentum.
You don’t need to know the story to love this production. It moves at a breathtaking pace and keeps your eyes glued to the stage from the first scene to the last.
Joe McFadden — Holby City, Heartbeat, Strictly winner 2017 — plays Andy with understated confidence and an idiosyncratic smile, his physicality shifting subtly across the years of Andy’s incarceration. It’s a quietly brilliant performance.
But the heart of the show is Ben Onwukwe as Red. Narrating and inhabiting the story in equal measure, he opens and closes the show with a warmth and pathos that stays with you long after you leave.
The supporting cast is exceptional. Kenneth Jay as Brooksie — the older inmate who simply can’t face the world after parole — delivers a tear-jerking performance from the top of a ladder that genuinely stops the room. Sean Kingsley and Ashley D Gayle are unnerving as the villain prisoners Bogs Diamond and Rooster. And Coronation Street’s Bill Ward brings quiet, menacing violence to the Warden — a man you never quite stop watching.
The set and lighting deserve a mention too. Impressively versatile, the staging shifts slickly between the prison grounds, the library, the warden’s office, and Andy’s cell — all with some very clever dropdown staging that never once distracts from the performances.
This is a fantastic show, and we’d urge you to go. Fans of the film and book will find something new to love in this version. And if you’ve never seen or read Shawshank? Even better — you’re in for something special.
📍Playing at Wycombe Swan
🗓️Until Saturday 14th March
⏰7.30pm (plus 2.30pm performances on Thursday and Saturday)
🎟️From £27.50
🌐 Get your tickets here
For more drama from our theatre archive, read our reviews of Double Indemnity and Death Comes to Pemberley.
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