Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8/10
Cast: Ravi Aujla, Jo Ben Ayed, Amiera Darwish, Raj Ghatak, Oliver Gyani, Rez Kabir, Hanif Khan, Soroosh Lavasini, Umar Pasha, Gary Pillai, Jay Sajjid, Karl Seth, Danielle Woodnutt.
This is the third time that Matthew Spangler’s adaptation of The Kite Runner has appeared on this stage. A co-production between Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse and Nottingham Playhouse, it has enjoyed tremendous success in London’s West End since its premiere here in 2013 and is now on its second U.K. tour.
“There is a way to be good again” is both a tagline for the show and a recurring theme within it, but it’s also amply demonstrated in another way in this re-staged tour with a new cast. Barney George’s evocative and versatile set has been given a makeover, with more detail in the backgrounds and the addition of some new technology in some of the video projection. Many of the new cast members have re-imagined their roles, bringing their own nuances to their characters and giving the show a fresh feel. This affords it the capacity to give a little extra to those who may be re-visiting the production.
For those unfamiliar with the story, it is one of friendship, loyalty, betrayal and redemption. Amir and Hassan are the closest of childhood friends despite being the sons of a master and his servant. Following a life-changing incident, Amir betrays Hassan but Hassan remains fiercely loyal. As the story crosses the generations, secrets of their family history are revealed that give Amir the opportunity to repay this loyalty, leading to a poignant dawning of hope in the play’s closing scenes.
The story moves back and forth from the past to the present, with several actors playing their characters as both child and adult. Both Raj Ghatak as Amir and Jo Ben Ayed as Hassan are extraordinarily good at this illusion, but Ayed particularly has the audience completely on-side every second he is on stage, carrying this forward to his second character of Sohrab who appears toward the end.
This touring revival has again been beautifully crafted by the production’s original director Giles Croft, and is still graced by the live tabla playing of Hanif Khan, who remains a watchful presence on the stage apron throughout.
It’s always interesting revisiting a production that has run for a number of years, and sometimes there can be a feeling of complacency that creeps in, but there’s no hint of that here. The new company of players have every bit as much conviction in the narrative and its delivery as the original team had five years ago, and many of them have delved deeper into the psyche of their characters.
This is powerful and moving theatre delivered with style and more than a little magic, from the playfulness of Amir and Hassan’s childhood, through the raw emotion of the terrors life deals them, to the kite flying scenes, accompanied by the atmospheric sound of wind wands.
The Kite Runner is at Liverpool Playhouse until 3rd March and then continues touring, currently booking up to 23rd July.
Nigel Smith.