PAGE-TO-STAGE adaptations are tricky, running the risk of satisfying neither those who’ve read (and loved) the book or those simply looking for a good night out at the theatre. This adaptation of Khaled Hosseini’s bestseller has got it right, if its record of success with audiences both in the West End and on tour is anything to go by.
You’d think that The Kite Runner has too much to cram into a two-and-a-half hour play. Adaptor Matthew Spangler admits as much, noting that “this is a story about a father and son, a story about two best friends; a love story; a story about transnational immigration and refugees; a story about the relative peace in Afghanistan in the 1970s before the wars; global politics; class and ethnicity”.
Phew! A mammoth task surely to bring to the stage in a flowing, coherent story, you might be thinking. The key - and again I refer to Spangler - is that, above all, The Kite Runner is a story of guilt and redemption. You feel for these characters as the brutal events unfold.
Amir (a wonderfully effective Raj Ghatak) is the narrator, telling his story as scenes from his past come to life on stage. It is not a story for the faint-hearted, this tale of Amie’s friendship with Hassan, the son of his family’s trusted household servant. An unspeakable act by the local bully Assef (a truly scary Soroosh Lavasini) changes Amir and Hassan’s relationship forever.
Giles Croft’s fluid direction and the heartfelt performances, coupled with Barney George’s kite-dominated set and Jonathan Girling’s music (including a live tabla player), add up to an unforgettable experience.
- Until Saturday. Box office 0844 871 3024. Online http://atgtickets.com/york
Raymond Crisp
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