Joe McFadden on playing Andy in The Shawshank Redemption: 'somehow he holds on to a sense of integrity'

McFadden - born in Glasgow in 1975 - was one of those gifted youngsters; and by the time he left school, he had a regular role in STV’s long-running Loch Lomondside drama Take The High Road, as badly-behaved teenager Gary McDonald.

“That’s why I never went to drama school,” explains McFadden. “During the years when I would have been doing that, I was already busy working - I did about six years in High Road altogether. So I really do feel that I owe my career to just one person - and that’s Camille.”

And a busy career it has been, too, for the last 30 years. When we talk, McFadden is just back from a brisk morning walk around Cardiff Bay; the massive Wales Millennium Centre there is the last stop before Edinburgh for the current UK touring production of The Shawshank Redemption, in which McFadden plays the leading role of wrongly imprisoned banker Andy Dufresne, alongside the great Ben Onwukwe as his unlikely prison friend, “Red” Redding.

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Ever since the 1990s, McFadden has been moving successfully between stage and screen. He has played major roles in television series including Heartbeat, Holby City and Elizabeth Gaskell’s Cranford; and in 2017, he famously signed up for Strictly Come Dancing, winning the coveted Glitterball Trophy with his professional dance partner Katya Jones.

“When I signed up for Strictly,” says McFadden, “I really had no idea that it would still be part of my life almost a decade later. I think the biggest change for me has been the recognition factor. Times are tough in theatre at the moment, and producers are looking for titles and names that make an immediate connection with audiences. I really don’t know whether I would have been offered a leading role like Andy Dufresne without the Strictly factor; maybe, but maybe not.”

In The Shawshank Redemption, though, Bill Kenwright Productions have found a touring show that enjoys a huge recognition factor of its own, with Frank Darabont’s 1994 film version of Stephen King’s original story now rated as one of the most watched and best-loved movies of all time.

“It is fascinating,” says McFadden, “to see how much audiences love coming together to watch this story in live theatre, even though most of them already know it so well. I think it’s something to do with the intensity of the live experience, that you know you’re stuck with us, in that prison, for the next two hours or so, as the drama plays out.”

“Another factor is that this show is appearing in theatres of very different sizes, from some of the biggest auditoriums in the country, to relatively intimate theatres like the Lyceum. That means that we have to work very hard with our touring director, Tim Welton, to make sure that we’re pitching the performance just right for the space we’re in.

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“However much effort it takes, through, the huge audience response to the story, every night, just makes everything worthwhile. I think it’s because this man finds himself in a truly terrible situation, and yet somehow doesn’t let it change him. The temptation is to harden up, to become cynical and brutal yourself.

“But Andy somehow holds on to a sense of integrity, humanity, kindness; a drive to help others, and to build community. And that’s really the battle we have, as a species, isn’t it? To remain true to those best aspects of ourselves, even in a brutal world. People certainly identify with that struggle right now; and I think they always will.”

The Shawshank Redemption is at the Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, 20-24 January; Theatre Royal, Glasgow, 24-28 March; and His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen, 7-11 April.

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