Bringing down the curtain

A couple of weeks back, we mentioned how The Daily Telegraph’s review of the stage version of The Shawshank Redemption had been misquoted outside Wyndham’s Theatre to make it seem that reviewer Charles Spencer had liked the show.

In fact, his words “superbly gripping, genuinely uplifting prison drama” referred not to the stage version but the movie. We pointed out that under the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, which became law here last year, it was actually illegal for producers of movies or plays to mislead the public by misquoting reviewers.

This week, papers like The Standard and The Independent cottoned onto this and, after their reports, it seems that Westminster Council’s trading standards officers are investigating. It might be a little late, however, as The Shawshank Redemption is putting up notices this weekend.

There are some great examples of cinematic and theatrical Zebu in our book.