The Nottingham Playhouse and Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse production of Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner is to play a 12-week season at Wyndham’s Theatre, London.
Published in 2003, The Kite Runner was Hosseini’s first novel. It became a bestseller across the globe and has since been published in 70 countries, selling 31 million copies in 60 languages.
The book tells the story of Amir, a young boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul, whose closest friend is Hassan, his father’s young Hazara servant. The tale is set against a backdrop of tumultuous events, from the fall of Afghanistan’s monarchy through the Soviet invasion, the exodus of refugees to Pakistan and the United States, and the rise of the Taliban.
In 2013, Nottingham Playhouse and Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse secured the rights to stage the European première of The Kite Runner. Matthew Spangler’s adaptation toured the UK.
Nottingham Playhouse artistic director Giles Croft who directs said, “I’m delighted that, following its huge success in Nottingham, at the Brighton Festival and across the UK, The Kite Runner is transferring to the West End.
“The power and relevance of this timeless story don’t diminish. I’m looking forward to seeing the reaction of the audience to this production in London.”
Ben Turner reprises the role of Amir. He said, “there’s something almost Shakespearian about this story—the things it deals with are so big. It’s betrayal, revenge, redemption. We all make mistakes, we can all look back and think ‘I shouldn’t have done that’. This story embodies that. On stage, the story can’t help but suck an audience in. You can hear a pin drop and weeping in the audience. People are obviously deeply affected by it.”
The Kite Runner runs at Wyndham’s Theatre from Wednesday 21 December until Saturday 11 March 2017.