The Kite Runner (play)
| The Kite Runner | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Matthew Spangler |
| Date premiered | 2009 |
| Place premiered | San Jose Repertory Theatre, San Jose, California |
| Original language | English |
The Kite Runner is a stage adaption of Afghan novelist's Khaled Hosseini's 2003 book, The Kite Runner. Aside from sharing the 2003 book as a source, it is unrelated to the 2007 film The Kite Runner.[1] The play was adapted for the stage by Matthew Spangler and premiered at San Jose Repertory Theatre in 2009.
Description
The fast-paced play depicts most of what happens in the book.[1] As in the book, The Kite Runner is narrated by Amir, who is obsessed with an "unatoned sin" he committed as a well-off child in 1970s Kabul: Amir betrayed his childhood friend, servant, and kite running partner Hasan when Amir's cowardice, and his desperate need to please his father, cause him to abandon Hasan in the face to a vicious and shocking attack by a neighborhood bully. In 2001, Amir has settled in America when he receives a call telling him: "There is a way to be good again." He then takes a dangerous trip, on the eve of the American invasion, into Taliban-controlled Kabul.[2]
Reception
The San Francisco Chronicle pointed out in 2009 that Spangler spends the whole first act on the first quarter of the novel, giving the remainder "a kind of CliffsNotes rush".[1] The Globe and Mail gave a 2009 production 3 out of 4 stars, calling it "a ripping good yarn", but "dangerously simplistic about modern-day Afghanistan".[2] The Financial Times gave a 2013 production 3 out of 5 stars, stating that "the novel roams through decades and across continents, is brilliantly evocative and is written in the first person ... while this structure works so well on the page, on stage it always makes for a slightly awkward experience, in which the characters appear in short illustrative episodes, rather than driving the story."[3]
In the UK, a Nottingham Playhouse Theatre Company production, directed by Giles Croft, was shortlisted for the 2014 Best Regional Production in the WhatsOnStage Awards, but lost to a production of Oliver!.[4]
The production transferred to the Wyndham's Theatre in the West End in December 2016, where it played a limited run until 11 March 2017.[5] The production will return to the West End at the Playhouse Theatre on 8 June 2017, and play a limited run to 26 August.[6][7]
References
- ^ a b c Robert Hurwitt (March 30, 2009). "Play review: 'The Kite Runner' true to source". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ a b J. Kelly Nestruck (March 20, 2013). "From book to stage, The Kite Runner is a ripping good yarn". The Globe and Mail.
- ^ Sarah Hemming (April 30, 2013). "The Kite Runner, Nottingham Playhouse – review". Financial Times.
- ^ "2015 Results". 17th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards.
- ^ "The Kite Runner to get West End premiere". WhatsOnStage.com. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
- ^ "The Kite Runner Headed to the Playhouse Theatre","www.boxoffice.co.uk",April 4, 2017
- ^ Phil Willmott (May 4, 2017). "The West End's Kite Flies On".