While a sign quoting a reviewer about how much they enjoyed The Shawshank Redemption seemed like a way to advertise and draw attention to the play at the Wyndham Theatre may have seen like a great idea at first, it quickly backfired.
It turns out that the quote was actually made originally to describe the film version of the popular story not the play that was on the West End stage, and not only that, the reviewer actually did even enjoy the play adaptation.
With this news, Westminster Trading Standards is now investigating whether the theatre broke legislation that is in place to protect consumers by using a quote that was misleading.
The results of the investigation, which is the first of in the history of the West End, could have wide-spread implications for the future advertising practices of plays, films, and books.
The quote on the Wyndham sign was from Charles Spencer when he was talking about the 1994 film with Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins. However, the theatre conveniently left out the following sentence in which Spencer stated that the stage version of the story is inferior in every way to the film.
Operations Manager of Trading Standards Sue Jones stated that it is never admissible for a theatre to intentionally lead the public astray, and that they will take action first by seeking an explanation from the Wyndham theatre. After this point they will move forward with the investigation if need be.
