Simone Reddington

Last weekend, I saw the Saturday matinee performance of The Kite Runner at Newcastle Theatre Royal. The production, directed by Giles Croft, has been on the West End and Broadway for over a decade, and is currently touring in theatres across the UK. The play is based on Khaled Hosseni’s best-selling 2003 novel, which I studied as part of my English Literature A-Level course and is one of the best books that I have ever read. I was therefore apprehensive that the play could live up to its high standard, especially as I found the 2007 film adaption very underwhelming. However, the play is anything but. 

The story of The Kite Runner is told from the perspective of the narrator Amir (wonderfully played by Stuart Vincent) who betrayed the loyal son of his father’s servant, Hassan, in one of the most brutal ways possible when they were children growing up in 1970s Afghanistan. His actions haunt him as he flees to America after the Russian invasion, until he returns to his home-country as an adult to atone his guilt. Matthew Spangler, the playwright, does a fantastic job in translating the novel into the script and powerfully conveys difficult themes such as war, genocide and sexual assault to the audience. I also really liked the ways in which aspects of Aghan culture were included within the production, such as the Middle Eastern costumes, the use of the Farsi language and Hanif Khan’s playing of the Tabla drums. The entire creative team behind the production deserve full credit for bringing the story to life. The casting decision for Yazdan Qafouri to play both Hassan and his son Sohrab was a simple but genius move that emphasised the full circle movement within the narrative.  

I would recommend anyone to go see The Kite Runner play if you get the chance, which is currently on the final stop of its UK tour at Cheltnam Everyman Theatre until Saturday 6^th July.