Widely regarded as one of the greatest movies of all time, The Shawshank Redemption is coming to the stage.

Directed by the award-winning David Esbjornson, the show stars Paul Nicholls, Ben Onwukwe and Jack Ellis.

The 1994 film of Stephen King’s book with Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman was nominated for seven Academy Awards and is regularly voted the nation’s favourite film.

Former EastEnders heartthrob Paul Nicholls takes the role of banker Andy Dufresne, handed a double life sentence for the murder of his wife and her lover and sent to the notorious Shawshank penitentiary.

Unflinching in his protests of innocence, Andy strikes up a friendship with Red (Ben), but when Warden Stammas (Jack) bullies him and exploits his talents for accountancy, a desperate plan is quietly hatched.

The play examines desperation, injustice, friendship and hope behind the claustrophobic bars of a maximum security facility.

Since playing Joe Wicks in EastEnders, Paul has appeared in Death in Paradise and The C Word on TV and made his West End debut in Long Day’s Journey Into Night at the Lyric Theatre.

Ben boasts a 30-year stage career, having appeared in productions at the RSC and the Royal Court Theatre. His TV credits include EastEnders, Coronation Street and Doctors, as well as playing Stuart ‘Recall’ McKenzie Street in London’s Burning for more than a decade.

Jack is best known for his role as prison warder Jim Fenner in ITV’s Bad Girls but has also been in Prime Suspect and Coronation Street.

Stephen King is one of the most popular authors of contemporary literature and has written 54 published novels that have sold more than 350 million copies around the world.

DETAILS

The Shawshank Redemption is at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury from Monday, September 12, to Saturday, September 17.

Tickets, which cost from £18, are available from the box office on 01227 787787, or at marlowetheatre.com.

It will also be at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley from Monday, October 31 to Saturday, November 5. To book, visit churchilltheatre.co.uk or call 020 3285 6000.