A UK-sourced stage adaptation of The Shawshank Redemption will tour Australia from January 2027, with seasons confirmed for Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide.

Presented by Impresario Productions, the production arrives following a successful UK tour and is based on Stephen King’s novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, which inspired the hit 1994 film starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman.

Set in late 1940s America, the story is that of a banker, Andy Dufresne, sentenced to life imprisonment after being wrongly convicted of murdering his wife and her lover.

Brutalised once inside the notorious Shawshank prison, he forms an enduring friendship with fellow inmate Red while quietly plotting a daring bid for freedom.

Adapted for the stage by Owen O’Neill and Dave Johns, the production is directed by David Esbjornson, whose previous Australian credits include directing Angela Lansbury and James Earl Jones in Driving Miss Daisy.

The Australian tour opens at Sydney’s Theatre Royal on 2 January before travelling to Arts Centre Melbourne’s Playhouse from 4 February, Perth’s Regal Theatre from 12 March and Adelaide’s Her Majesty’s Theatre from 1 April. Additional tour dates and casting are yet to be announced.

Tickets will go on sale following a public waitlist registration, with casting announcements expected in the coming months.