THE much-acclaimed Broadway production of The Kite Runner, which is touring to the Theatre Royal in Bath, is a gripping and emotional story of betrayal and redemption.
Direct from Broadway, the stage adaptation of Khaled Hosseini’s bestselling novel is visiting the Theatre Royal Bath to Saturday, March 23 as part of a new nationwide tour.
Epic, exhilarating and accompanied by evocative and virtuosic live drumming by long-serving Tabla player Hanif Khan, who has been with the play since 2013, this unforgettable, theatrical tour-de-force is a faithful adaptation of the modern classic.
It tells the story of close friends Amir and Hassan, who are experts in the art of kite flying, a popular Afghanistan past-time. The two young boys live in the Afghanistan capital, Kabul, and are trying hard to win the local kite-fighting tournament.
But Afghanistan is a country on the verge of war and the two best friends are about to be torn apart by a terrible incident that will haunt the rest of their lives.
The young Amir commits an act of betrayal, by not going to help Hassan when he is sexually assaulted by local bully, Assef, an act of cowardice that haunts him for the rest of his life.
As the war progresses, Amir and his father Baba are forced to flee Afghanistan for America, and The Kite Runner becomes the story of Amir's quest for redemption – confronting his past to right the wrongs he committed all those years ago.
Matthew Spangler’s stage adaptation, directed by Giles Croft, has justly garnered international acclaim with two West End runs and a Broadway season.
The company includes Stuart Vincent as the show’s protagonist, Amir, a Pashtun and a Sunni Muslim who is the play's narrator, which means he shares his transition from a selfish child to self-sacrificing adult from his own perspective.
Dean Rehman appears in the pivotal role of Baba, the biological father of both Amir and Hassan, played by Yazdan Qafouri, who also appears as Sohrab. Hassan is brought up as the son of Ali, Baba’s Hazara servant and Shi'a Muslim and is the kite runner who gives the novel and the play its title.
Bhavin Bhatt reprises the role of Amir’s arch-enemy Assef, and was Best Newcomer at the Asian Media Awards when he starred in The Kite Runner in the West End.
The cast also features Daphne Kouma as Ali’s wife Soraya, Tiran Aakel as Ali and Farid, Ian Abeyesekera as General Taheri, Christopher Glover as Ramin Khan, Aram Mardourian as Kamal, Stanton Wright as Wali, with Amar Aggoun and Sulin Hasso in the Ensemble.
The plot is fast-paced and features a strange and unfamiliar world of Afghanistan life which becomes oddly fascinating. The ending is quite gripping as Amir confronts Assef, who has become a Taliban leader, in his bid to rescue Hassan’s son, Sohrab, and take him to America.
Stage and costume design is by Barney George with lighting design by Charles Balfour and projection design by William Simpson. The composer is Jonathan Girling, sound design is by Drew Baumohl, movement design is Kitty Winter, fight director is Philip D’Orleans and associate director is Damian Sandys.
The Kite Runner explores the concepts of love and forgiveness, as well as betrayal and redemption, plus the social class and ethnic tensions that permeate Afghanistan society, and the immigrant experience of Baba and Amir when they reach America, but it's well worth a visit if you loved the novel.
The Kite Runner appears at the Theatre Royal Bath to Saturday, March 23. To book tickets contact the Theatre Royal Bath Box Office on 01225 448844 or visit theatreroyal.org.uk
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