LIVERPOOL PLAYHOUSE – UNTIL 27TH APRIL 2024
REVIEWED BY JEN HUGHES DALEY
4****
Based on the best selling novel by Khaled Hosseini, directed by Giles Croft and adapted for stage by Matthew Spangler, prepare for a heart wrenching, intense and emotive bringing to life of the journey of two best friend in 1970’s Kabul. The boys, Amir ( Stuart Vincent) and Hassan ( Yazdan Qafouri ) portrayed their friendship beautifully. Slingshots, kites and mischievous play, all depict the innocence of childhood. Childhood not yet tainted by the consequence of theft. But how those very same symbols of childhood change and cause pain and revenge is truly breathtaking. Layer after layer of distress enveloped the stage as waves of emotion and tension ripped through the audience under the soothing sounds of Hanif Khan’s percussion.
Friendship, loyalty, betrayal, love, competition, guilt and wanting, these themes run through the veins of the performance, but not more than theft …..“When you kill a man you steal a life, when you tell a lie , you steal someone’s right to the truth”. How can a joyful neighborhood kite race change the lives of two boys forever? The answer to that can be found in the menacing, spine tingling, Assef (Bhavin Bhatt) . Special mention to this award-winning best newcomer at the Asian Media Awards. Every word spoken was spat with venom. His clenched fists and threatening presence were truly chilling.
Trigger warning for some scenes of strong language depictions of sexual violence, suicide, weapons and gun shots. This is gripping, gritty and raw. It sits proudly on a stage of minimal props and set. The white, seemingly innocent, fluttering like lingers above the stage. But underneath it is the unravelling relationships bound by loyalty and lies.
This is a must see, and for me is now a must read. It’s a performance that I will always remember as one presented in the simplest yet powerful of ways.