Anderson and Cathey to Star in West End Shawshank Redemption

By Andrew Gans
July 2, 2009

Kevin Anderson and Reg E. Cathey will head the cast of the West End production of The Shawshank Redemption, a stage adaptation based on Stephen King's novella.

Variety reports that previews will begin Sept. 4 at London's Wyndham's Theatre with an official opening scheduled for Sept. 13. Performances are currently scheduled to run through Feb. 14, 2010.

Owen O'Neill and Dave Johns penned the stage version of King's Shawshank, which was also the inspiration for a 1994 film.

The play, which was also seen in Dublin, "centers on the friendship two men develop over their time as inmates in a notoriously tough prison," according to the industry paper.

The creative team includes director Peter Sheridan, set and costume designer Ferdia Murphy, sound designer Denis Clohessy and lighting designer Kevin Treacy.

Kevin Anderson received a Tony nomination and Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards for his performance in the revival of Death of a Salesman as well as a Theatre World Award for his work in Orphans. He has also appeared on Broadway in Come Back Little Sheba, Brooklyn, Orpheus Descending and Off-Broadway in Red Address and Speaking in Tongues. On the London stage he created the role of Joe Gillis in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard.

Reg E. Cathey made his Broadway debut in The Green Bird. Among his numerous screen credits are "The Wire," "Oz," "Patsy," "Third Watch," "Men Without Jobs," "A Good Night to Die," and "The Corner."