'Audience was as rapt as I was as events unfolded'

THE SHAWSANK REDEMPTION REVIEW

- By DEBORAH HALL

I WAS glad, as I took my seat at Hull New Theatre last night for the opening of The Shawshank Redemption, that I could not recall much of the film version I saw donkey’s years back. Can it really be as long ago as 1994 that it came out?

The plot was hazy and the ending lost to me, so fortunately I had no comparisons to draw on.

Nor was there to be any bias from the book by Stephen King that it is based on - I've not read it - to influence my thoughts on this stage version.

The only thing that was firmly implanted in my memory was that rich and mellifluous voice of Morgan Freeman, who played one of the major roles.

I thought, well someone’s never going to replicate that - but more on that later.

I had a little more time to ruminate on it as there was a minor hitch at curtain up.