Set in a country on the verge of war, themes of friendship and trust are truly tested to the limit in modern day classic The Kite Runner. Direct from the West End, this stage adaptation of Hosseini’s best-selling novel will be at Eastbourne’s Devonshire Park Theatre from Tuesday 13th to Saturday 17th February and at The Hawth, Crawley from Tuesday 20th to Saturday 24th February.
The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini’s first novel came out in 2003 and has since been published in 70 countries and made into an award-winning film, before being adapted by Matthew Spangler as a West End stage play.
Told against the backdrop of the fall of Afghanistan’s monarchy, the Soviet invasion, the rise of the Taliban, and the mass exodus of refugees, The Kite Runner tells the story of Amir, a young boy from Kabul, whose closest friend is Hassan, his father’s young servant.
The boys favourite pastime in peaceful Kabul is competitive kite flying in the blue skies. Hassan is a successful ‘kite runner’ for Amir, having a sixth sense as to where the kite will land and need to be retrieved from before it has even left the sky.
As an adult in America with a career, a wife and a young family of his own, Amir remains racked with guilt over a terrible childhood incident that occurred after a kite tournament, in which he betrayed Hassan’s trust, resulting in a dark unspoken secret and causing the boys to drift apart. When news arrives that the Taliban has murdered Hassan and his wife, Amir seeks redemption by seeking out the fate of their son.
Follow one man’s journey to confront his past and find salvation in The Kite Runner at the Devonshire Park Theatre from 13th to 17th February, with evening performances at 7.45pm, and at The Hawth, Crawley from 20th to 24th February with evening performances at 7.30pm. Both venues also have Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2.30pm. Tickets are available online at eastbournetheatres.co.uk and at parkwoodtheatres.co.uk/The-Hawth.
