Edinburgh Fringe production

Omid Djalili is to star in a new stage production of The Shawshank Redemption at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Fellow comic Owen O’Neill has adapted the Stephen King story, and will co-star as prison warden Stammas. He and stand-up Dave Johns previously staged an adaptation of the same tale in 2009, which ran at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin and the Wyndams Theatre in London’s West End.

In Edinburgh, Djalili will pay Red, the inmate who befriends wrongly imprisoned banker Andy Dufresne and who was played by Morgan Freeman in the 1994 film version.

The Shawshank Redemption will also star a cast of comedians, which has yet to be announced – including the lead role of Dufresne. O’Neill previously co-produced the stage versions of Twelve Angry Men and One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest at Edinburgh, which also featured stand-ups.

The play will run at the Musical Hall in the Assembly Rooms at 4.10pm daily. Tommy Sheppard, owner of The Stand Comedy Club, who will again be running the venue, is producer.

Meanwhile, Djalili will also be performing a stand-up show at the Assembly Rooms, which today unveiled details of its festival programme.

Other stand-ups in the roster include Ardal O’Hanlon, Fred MacAulay, Jerry Sadowitz, Zoe Lyons, Pete Cain, Jarlath Regan and TanyaLee Davis.

Scott Capurro is set to cause controversy with a controversial show entitled Islamahomophobia; while much-tipped fellow American Michael Che is debuting his new show, Cartoon Violence. His mix of street culture and world issues has landed him a slot in Comedy Central’s Comics To Watch list – and TV appearances on John Oliver’s New York Stand Up Show.

Meanwhile, the Spiegeltent situated in George Street outside the Assembly Rooms will host a return of La Clique and spoof Australian lounge singer Bob Downe.

Published: 10 Apr 2013