Matthew Spangler’s adaptation of Khaled Hosseini’s international best-selling novel The Kite Runner is to return to Nottingham Playhouse as the first leg of a UK tour.
In 2013 Nottingham Playhouse and Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse secured the rights to stage the European premiere of The Kite Runner.
The tale of friendship spans cultures and continents as it follows one man’s journey to confront his past and find redemption.
In The Kite Runner Afghanistan is a divided country on the verge of war. Childhood friends Amir and Hassan are about to be separated. The sky over Kabul is full of the excitement of a kite-flying tournament. But neither of the boys can foresee what will happen to Hassan that afternoon—an event that will shatter their lives.
Nottingham Playhouse artistic director Giles Croft said, “I’m delighted that, following its success in Nottingham and Liverpool, the production will have a longer life. The power and relevance of The Kite Runner doesn’t diminish and I have no doubt this will prove to be a timeless story.
“It seems to me it has another profound connection to Britain; as we move towards a complete troop withdrawal from Afghanistan it’s good and important to be reminded of the Afghans’ own stories and histories.
“We’ve inevitably become bound up in the tragedies and politics of this most recent Afghan war and the experiences of Western troops. It’s easy to forget that the Afghans are a people with a complex and rich culture, with their own story to tell, and that story won't stop or cease to be relevant when our troops come home.”
Two new actors will join the cast of The Kite Runner: Bhavin Bhatt will play Wali while Andrei Costin will be Hassan and Sohrab.
The rest of the cast is: Ben Turner (Amir); David Ahmad (Kamal/Zaman); Antony Bunsee (General Taheri/Raymond Andrews); Emilio Doorgansingh (Baba); Nicholas Karimi (Assef); Ezra Khan (Ali/Farid); Nicholas Khan (Rahim Khan/Dr Schneider/Omar Faisal); Lisa Zahra (Soroya/Mrs Nguyen); Hanif Khan (musician).
The Kite Runner runs at Nottingham Playhouse from Friday (29 August) until Saturday 6 September before touring to Liverpool Playhouse; Oxford Playhouse; Birmingham REP; Malvern Theatres; Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury; Theatre Royal, York; West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds; King’s Theatre, Edinburgh; and Salisbury Playhouse.