‘The Kite Runner’ is an exceptional, provoking piece of theatre which challenges you to question your own privilege and how you can use it to fight injustice. Based on Khaled Hosseini’s international bestselling novel, this haunting tale of friendship spans cultures and continents and follows one man’s journey to confront his past and find redemption.
Afghanistan is a country on the verge of war and best friends are about to be torn apart. It’s a beautiful afternoon in Kabul, the skies are full of colour and the streets are full of the excitement of a kite flying tournament, but no one can foresee the terrible incident that will shatter their lives forever.
Stuart Vincent as Amir was spellbinding, his understanding of the character Amir was exceptional, allowing him to find a way to continue to build emotion throughout the production. Vincent was completely immersed in the world, allowing the audience to indulge in the single sided version of events – he showed complete inhibition and vulnerability. At first, I found the rhythm of the delivery of Vincent’s lines in his American accent somewhat off, however, with the vast amount of text he delivers it soon made sense and became easy to digest.
Yazdan Qafouri as Hassan/Sohrab was outstanding. Qafouri is the emotional driver of the production and his commitment to the role is second to none. Qafouri’s approach to the role comes across as humble and completely selfless. Qafouri’s emotional journey was well paced and his development in character from Hassan to Sohrab was extraordinary. Qafouri portrayed Sohrab’s suffering heartbreakingly, his character choices cannot be faulted.
Dean Rehman as Baba had a great physicality, his poise and posture highlighted the character’s steady decline in health. Dean Rehman used the first act to highlight the power and superiority of Baba which made the second act incredibly exciting as we watch Baba’s happiness come into power as his wealth diminishes.
Bhavin Bhatt as Assef was unambiguously evil, his portrayal of this character created a visceral reaction from the audience, a truly exceptional performance. Bhatt dominated the stage, creating shock and discomfort with his character choices. His use of intonation and volume was chilling as her grew more violent throughout the production. Bhatt’s ability to depict this character brought the theatre to life using shock and horror to provoke us.
Daphne Kouma as Soraya brought truthfulness to the production, her delivery of the text as she admitted her past and seeked to be wholly truthful spoke to the audience and the character of Amir. Her stage presence brought a calmness to an otherwise intense production and she allowed the audience to relax.
Christopher Glover as Rahim Khan, Dr Schneider and Omar Faisal gave a wonderful performance, he vocally disguised well between the characters and among everything his vocal ability and facial expressions stood out. Glover used subtleties to allow the audience into his subconscious and to help us read between the lines, an excellent performance.
Ian Abeysekera as General Taheri had excellent stage presence and showed such a growth in character within a short period of time. Abeysekera used Taheri’s status as the key focal point of his existence, as a man of great honour he was determined to use his physicality and vocal command to depict thai well.
The ensemble consisted of Stanton Wright, Aram Mardourian, Sulin Hasso, Amr Aggoun and Tiran Aakel. The ensemble were full of energy and were used to create atmosphere and build excitement within the performance, they also played smaller roles which added to the story telling of the production. Each ensemble member gave consistent energy and was a highlight of the production.
Hansif Khan as the musician and was truly exceptional. Khan did not tire as he effortlessly played the Tabla throughout the performance. The Tabla is used to underscore the performance using a sequence and series of taals. The music is most effective throughout the performance where it builds tension and stops suddenly to emphasise and highlight key scenes of phrases.
Giles Croft has created a wonderful merge of a modernistic yet simplistic style of direction that hugely compliments the texts. Alongside movement direction Kitty Winter, they have created such a visual wonder in terms of blocking. The movement is somewhat minimal and seems simplistic however, it achieves excellence in using playfulness to create the journey from adolescence to adulthood and moving through different atmospheres.
Barney George as designer has created the most wonderful set, using earthy materials such as wood and natural colours such as creams for the large kite shape which is used at times as a shadow screen and as entrances/exits. The set is magnificent yet extremely functional and humble. Lighting designer Charles Balfour used low tones and warm lighting to highlight the earthly nature of the set, the lighting creates such an excellent atmosphere, putting the spotlight on Amir throughout the production. William Simpson creates excellent projections, to elevate the simplicity of the piece and brings together the artistry of the production as a whole.
Jonathan Girling creates such an interesting musical score which is used effectively to complement the storytelling of the piece. The use of instruments on stage to create sound effects is exceptional and adds to the ephemeral experience.
‘The Kite Runner’ is an exceptional piece of theatre, it is well deserving of it’s renowned reputation and I would urge anyone to go and see it. The production addresses some true evil and it is important that you research some of these themes prior to going to prepare for some of the content. This wonderful production is extraordinary theatre, shocking, provoking and uplifting the audience to make positive change within their lifetime.
‘The Kite Runner’ is at the Theatre Royal Glasgow from Tuesday the 9th to Saturday the 13th of April. Get your tickets here: https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/the-kite-runner/theatre-royal-glasgow/
Theatre Scotland 
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