The Shawshank Redemption *** TNT

Friday 25 September 2009 15:06 GMT

It was never likely to match the 1994 film, but this stage version of Stephen King’s novella takes a decent stab at recreating the violence and corruption in the Maine prison where banker Andy Dufresne is incarcerated for a double murder he says he didn’t commit.

Neither The Wire’s Reg E Cathey (as fellow inmate Red) nor Steppenwolf’s Kevin Anderson’s stoic, stubborn Andy equal the enigmatic charisma of their screen predecessors. And the floor to ceiling grid of prison bars struggles to evoke the confined claustrophobia of long-term internment.

But the strong narrative drive remains and Geoffrey Hutchings impresses as ageing librarian Brooksie, a man so institutionalised he can’t face life on the outside.

Wyndhams, Charing Cross Rd WC2H 0DA Leicester Square (0844 482 5125; theshawshankredemption.co.uk). Until Feb 14. £15-£49.50