Unless you've been living under a rock since 2003, you MUST have heard about, seen, or read The Kite Runner. It was a best selling novel by the great (in my humble opinion, at least) Khaled Hosseini, and tells the story of Amir and his family, as they go from a luxurious life, to a scraped-together existence in a foreign land.
If you haven't heard about this epic tale, its setting at least will be very familiar to all. Kabul, Afghanistan. To say it's been knocking around in newspapers, TV news, and online for less than favourable reasons so far this Century (and indeed the last) is something of an understatement, and throughout the plot of The Kite Runner, we are reminded of the extent of the problems its people have faced, really since its conquering by Alexander the Great in 330BC.
The latest adaptation is a stage show, and was adapted for theatre by Matthew Spangler, and for its return to Nottingham Playhouse, until this Saturday, 6th September, it is Directed by Giles Croft - a name which should be familiar to even the most casual of patrons of this great venue. Its previous run proved massively popular, and if last night's performance was anything to go by, it is well deserving of its ten week national tour, which it will shortly be embarking on (details here)!
The show begins before the house lights go down with traditional drumming music played by Hanif Khan - an element which could, in itself, have been worthy of rapturous applause and a fair old ticket price (indeed, Khan earned himself some well deserved cheers and whistles at final curtain!), before we are introduced to Amir (Ben Turner), the lead, and it seems appropriate to say, the story-teller (as he is described on a number of occasions in the second act).
It would be disappointing to give too much away, so in short, Amir is born in to a very privileged, if slightly dysfunctional upbringing: his family consisting solely of his father, and his only friend being his servant, Hassan (Andrei Costin). Feeling alone but for the daytime company of Hassan, and his books, he at last finds favour from his father in eventually succeeding and winning in the local 'Kite Battles' - an event which sounds, frankly, brilliant! However, his joy is short lived when local bullies attack Hassan, an event which he witnesses but does nothing to stop, fulfilling his father's expectation that he is a coward. Struggling to face up to the fact that he did nothing to help, and the guilt that comes with it, Amir ultimately ends this friendship, leaving himself more alone than ever before, and breaking his Baba's ((Emilio Doorgasingh) heart, given that Hassan and his Father, Ali (Ezra Khan) had been the family's servants for many years.
Soon after the departure, Ali and Baba are forced to leave Afghanistan as a result of the conflict: the two men struggle to make a new life for themselves, facing relative poverty, and mockery, and a world very different to their previous lives.
The Kite Runner is, without wanting to use the, albeit appropriate, cliche, an emotional roller coaster, which had the audience roaring with tears and, at times, laughter, and the stage show is mercifully very true to Khaled Hossini's original bestseller. The acts are both lengthy (one hour, and eighty minutes respectively), but the pace of the action, and the quality of the acting, sets and background music are such that the first act flies by, leaving you hungry for the interval to end, and the second draws you in, desperate to know the fates of the characters!
A gripping masterpiece, and despite the tear-jerking moments, a solid option for a great night out, with tickets starting at a very reasonable £9.50 for selected performances, and the programme genuinely worth investing in.
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