David Berry, Bert LaBonte and Rodger Corser will bring the power of human spirit to the stage when the Australian production of The Shawshank Redemption tours to Regal Theatre in March.
The celebrated stage adaptation of the iconic 1994 film is set to feature Berry as wrongly convicted murderer Andy Dufresne sentenced to life imprisonment in the notorious Shawshank prison, alongside LaBonte as inmate Red and Corser as the corrupt warden.
“The magic of the movie is something that’s universally agreed upon as just an excellent story and of course has the original source material from the Stephen King novella,” Berry said.
“It’s one of those seminal stories. Now bringing it to the stage just gives it another breath of fresh air, another way of telling the story we all love about hope and redemption. I’m really curious and fascinated to see how we bring that to life.”
The Outlander and A Place To Call Home actor said the challenge was not to do an imitation of the film’s stars, including Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, but bring a fresh new dimension and energy to the story as it is reinterpreted for live audiences.
Adapted for the stage by Owen O’Neill and Dave Johns, The Shawshank Redemption will premiere in Sydney during January before touring to Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide.
“The power of stage, the medium itself can be truly transformative,” Berry said.
“I hope that through coming and experiencing it live, the story resonates with audiences, with even more depth than just watching it through the movie.”
The Shawshank Redemption is at Regal Theatre from March 12. Ticket waitlist at shawshanklive.com.au.
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