The first half of the play unfolds through the adult narration of Amir (played by Anousha Alamian with expertly balanced intensity and energy) as he recounts the events of his younger self (a somewhat reserved Conor Wylie) and Hassan (played with disappointingly little emotional oomph by Norman Yeung). Instead he allows the strength of many performances, evocative live drumming by the talented Salar Nader and Kerem Cetinel’s moody lighting and metaphorically minimal set design to stand in for literal translations of the many emotional and physical spaces the story inhabits. Rose’s clever answer to the challenge is to not get carried away with the preciousness of place. Ambitious in its scope, the story spans thirty years and two continents, presenting a great challenge for any director. The play’s timeline addresses the fall of the monarchy, the Soviet invasion, the mass exodus of Afghan refugees to Pakistan and the United States and the Taliban regime. Running concurrently with the boys’ narrative, is the very real historical backdrop of Afghanistan at that time. Tormented by his deeds, Amir struggles the rest of his life with these demons until the opportunity for redemption, “to be good again “presents itself. Staying remarkably true to the original novel right down to the first person narrative, Spangler’s adaptation tells the story of a Kabul boy named Amir, a wealthy Pashtun (the dominant ruling class in Afghanistan pre 1980’s Soviet invasion) who betrays his servant/friend Hassan, a Hazara (an ethnically oppressed Afghan minority) in order to win his father’s approval and love. And despite some questionable narrative techniques in Act I, this production is yet another successful notch in The Kite Runner saga. In other words – Rose and his team had big shoes to fill. Spangler’s efforts paid off winning no less than five San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics’ Circle Awards, including awards for Original Script and Overall Production. Seemingly undaunted by the story’s already wide exposure and possible critical saturation, playwright Matthew Spangler took his turn adapting the novel for the stage in his 2009 San Jose production. The movie version followed just a few years later with Marc Forster’s 2007 film adaptation which garnered Oscar and Golden Globe nominations and won several other critical awards. Khaled Hossein’s novel about two Afghan boys of different caste was published in 2003 and went on to become an international bestseller, claiming millions of copies published in approximately 70 countries. Especially when it’s done with as much thought, subtlety and confidence as Theatre Calgary’s Canadian Premiere of The Kite Runner in coproduction with Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre.Įconomically and elegantly directed by Eric Rose, The Kite Runner is a stage adaptation that comes with the baggage of great expectation due to the sheer force of the story’s success. However, as a theater critic, the luxury of banning from your cannon all productions based on novels you enjoyed is not only impossible, it’s ill-advised. Not because the film adaptation is necessarily not up to snuff (although let’s face it, many of them aren’t), but because I like to keep alive my own imaginative memories of the people, places and situations evoked between the pages, undisturbed by the biases and agendas of Hollywood or some other movie-maker. This is my steadfast personal rule after reading a novel I deeply enjoy. Listen to my review on CBC’s Eyeopener at (l to r) Michael Peng, Conor Wylie, Anousha Alamian, Norman Yeung, Parnelli Parnes.
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