The Shawshank Redemption

Conrad Black is said to spend his days tutoring his fellow inmates. Jeffrey Archer (who was in the audience on press night) and Jonathan Aitken have similar stories to tell. Maybe they were inspired by Andy Dufresne, the banker who is wrongly sentenced for murdering his wife and her lover. When Andy first pitches up in jail, he has to find a way of dealing with both the violent inmates and the corrupt, brutal warders. It's a task he manages with some flair, firstly by refusing to bow to the prison's bully, and secondly by taking on some dubious financial tasks for the Warden. In return, he demands favours for all his colleagues and has them eating out of his hand.

Based on a novella by Stephen King, the film is one of the most popular ever made, which makes it a risky candidate for the stage. At least we can be grateful that writers Owen O'Neill and Dave Johns haven't turned it into a musical. The film's appeal rests with the growing trust between Andy and Red, the prison fixer, and with the way in which hope movingly triumphs against the odds. Claustrophobia is far from alien to the theatre but with an impressive line-up of 19 male actors Peter Sheridan's production could do more to create a convincing atmosphere of boredom and violence. There's no sense that the years are passing. Nor is there much depth in the relationship between Kevin Anderson's Andy and Reg E Cathey's Red. Anderson looks remarkably similar to Tim Robbins but he makes the part his own, whereas Cathey finds it hard to sustain his character. The story is still engrossing - even captivating - and there are welcome flashes of humour, particularly when Andy offers the Warden a seat in his own prison. It even gets away with having a banker as its hero.