This winter, as we reported earlier this week, London theatre goers can look forward to a stage adaption of THE KITE RUNNER, one of the most beloved books of this century.
The Kite Runner was a first novel by Khaled Hosseini and really struck a chord with readers all over the world. It's setting is specific, Afghanistan, but it's themes of friendship and redemption and single parent family life are so universal that it speaks to people the world over.
The story draws on Hosseini's childhood memories of growing up in an Afghanistan blighted by war, and centres around two young friends with a love for kite flying; the conflict will drive them to take very different paths in life.
Impressively Hosseini started to write it in his spare time, whilst also practicing medicine in the U.S. Appropriately the novel begins with a man looking back on his formative childhood years from his new life in the West. It was published in 2003 and went on to become an international bestseller in over 70 countries, spending more than 100 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. To date it has sold 31.5 million copies in 60 languages.
The production's PR team are describe the plot as follows: "it's 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 regime... It follows one man’s journey to confront his past and find redemption"
There's a popular film too but a stage adaptation was underway before Hollywood got their hands on it and was first produced in San Francisco in 2009 by The San Jose Repertory, where it won five San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics’ Circle Awards.
In 2013 some of the UK's top regional theatre's got together to produce its British premiere, launching at the Nottingham Playhouse under the direction of the venues Artistic Director, Giles Croft. The staging has proved so popular with audiences that it's been touring ever since.
Croft says: Following its huge success in Nottingham, at the Brighton Festival and across the UK, I’m delighted that The Kite Runner is transferring to the West End. The power and relevance of this timeless story doesn’t diminish. I am looking forward to seeing the reaction of the audience to this production in London.”
It's the book that's the undoubted star of the show but recreating the lead role for West Enders following great acclaim on tour is Ben Turner, best known for playing Staff Nurse Jay Faldren for three years in BBC1’s Casualty.
The Kite Runner transfers to the West End for a strictly limited 12-week season at Wyndham’s Theatre from Wednesday 21 December - Saturday 11 March.
The Donmar Warehouse used to be the place to look for innovative productions of sophisticated Sondheim musicals but in recent years the Menier Chocolate Factory have stolen the crown with critically acclaimed revivals of A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, ASSASSINS and ROAD SHOW.