One of the themes running through Khaled Hosseini’s best-selling novel The Kite Runner, the stage version of which shows at Birmingham Repertory Theatre this month, is that of refugees. One-and-a-half decades on from the book’s publication, the man responsible for adapting the story for the theatre is conscious that this aspect of the novel still resonates.
“That’s a bigger theme in the play now than it was when we first produced it in 2009,” says playwright Matthew Spangler, “and it’s certainly a bigger theme than when the book was published in 2003.
“How does that affect the production? I suppose I’ve changed a few lines to create words that would echo with the contemporary situation - nothing that you’d probably even notice if you saw the other productions, but there are things that I’m aware of, a line here and there, that echo with the situation we’re in today.”
The Kite Runner is the story of two boys growing up in 1970s Afghanistan who share a love of kite running, a national passion that involves cutting the strings of opposing kite flyers and then retrieving the kite from where it lands. An incident at a crucial kite-running event becomes a pivotal moment in the story and forms the basis for the play’s numerous strands.
“One thing I like about The Kite Runner is that there are a lot of themes,” says Matthew. “It’s a father-son story, a story about two best friends, a love story, a story about betrayal, regret and redemption, and a story about global politics and refugees - and it’s all these things together. In any other play, it would be reasonable just to focus on one of those themes, but The Kite Runner has them all together, and you see them in relationship to each other, and at different points in the evening one of those themes comes to the forefront.”
Matthew appreciates these qualities in drama not only as a writer but also as a member of the audience.
“As a theatregoer, I like plays that are full of themes. I saw The Ferryman recently here in London, and that struck me as a similar theme-heavy play; there’s a lot in it, and I think that makes for great theatre.”
The California-based Matthew’s first exposure to The Kite Runner happened more than a decade ago.
“Khaled Hosseini and I, we live in the same city - well, the same area, I should say. We’re in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay area, and a lot of the book is set there. I read it when it first came out in 2003, and I was drawn to the immigration story. I’m also a professor at a university, and I teach courses on immigration and the arts, so I thought it would be a good book to teach with my students.
“I wrote to Khaled and asked what he would think of a play based on the book - almost all my plays are adapted from books - and we met at a Starbucks in California. I introduced myself and told him about my work, and it went from there. So there are some subtle differences between the play and the book, and a number of those are driven by Khaled himself.”
Once the idea was up and running, Matthew proceeded to thoroughly research the project. “I spent about nine months researching, and one of my best sources was Khaled’s father-in-law. He lives in the San Francisco Bay area, so I would meet with him, read books on Afghan history and culture, and then I would go over to his house and we would sit down and I would talk to him about it.
“I wanted to be very careful about not taking something out that was really essential in some way to Afghan culture or politics, or misrepresenting something because I’m collapsing two scenes together, which maybe makes perfect sense in adapting a book, but (not) in this cultural context.”
Music forms an important part of The Kite Runner on stage. This production features renowned tabla player Hanif Khan, whose audiences have included Prince Charles and Sir Paul McCartney.
“Every production of The Kite Runner has used live musicians, at my urging, and I’m thrilled that this production has it. I think it adds a lot, having that live musician on stage, and it can underscore scenes. There’s something about that live person on stage which, for me, is part of the theatricality of the piece.”
For anyone who’s never seen The Kite Runner but is thinking about catching it at The REP, Matthew has this message: “It’s a great story - I think that’s the big thing in The Kite Runner. It’s an amazing story, a rollercoaster of ups and downs, twists and turns. If you like a good story, this is the play for you.”
As for his future plans, Matthew is turning his attention to another area of Asia for his next project.
“I’m working on a new play, which is still in draft form, about the 1953 coup in Iran, when Britain and the United States put out of power Iran’s Prime Minister [Mohammad Mosaddegh] and installed the Shah. So this is a play about the CIA and the British agents who pulled off that coup.
The Kite Runner shows at Birmingham Repertory Theatre from Tuesday 13 to Saturday 24 March.
One of the themes running through Khaled Hosseini’s best-selling novel The Kite Runner, the stage version of which shows at Birmingham Repertory Theatre this month, is that of refugees. One-and-a-half decades on from the book’s publication, the man responsible for adapting the story for the theatre is conscious that this aspect of the novel still resonates.
“That’s a bigger theme in the play now than it was when we first produced it in 2009,” says playwright Matthew Spangler, “and it’s certainly a bigger theme than when the book was published in 2003.
“How does that affect the production? I suppose I’ve changed a few lines to create words that would echo with the contemporary situation - nothing that you’d probably even notice if you saw the other productions, but there are things that I’m aware of, a line here and there, that echo with the situation we’re in today.”
The Kite Runner is the story of two boys growing up in 1970s Afghanistan who share a love of kite running, a national passion that involves cutting the strings of opposing kite flyers and then retrieving the kite from where it lands. An incident at a crucial kite-running event becomes a pivotal moment in the story and forms the basis for the play’s numerous strands.
“One thing I like about The Kite Runner is that there are a lot of themes,” says Matthew. “It’s a father-son story, a story about two best friends, a love story, a story about betrayal, regret and redemption, and a story about global politics and refugees - and it’s all these things together. In any other play, it would be reasonable just to focus on one of those themes, but The Kite Runner has them all together, and you see them in relationship to each other, and at different points in the evening one of those themes comes to the forefront.”
Matthew appreciates these qualities in drama not only as a writer but also as a member of the audience.
“As a theatregoer, I like plays that are full of themes. I saw The Ferryman recently here in London, and that struck me as a similar theme-heavy play; there’s a lot in it, and I think that makes for great theatre.”
The California-based Matthew’s first exposure to The Kite Runner happened more than a decade ago.
“Khaled Hosseini and I, we live in the same city - well, the same area, I should say. We’re in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay area, and a lot of the book is set there. I read it when it first came out in 2003, and I was drawn to the immigration story. I’m also a professor at a university, and I teach courses on immigration and the arts, so I thought it would be a good book to teach with my students.
“I wrote to Khaled and asked what he would think of a play based on the book - almost all my plays are adapted from books - and we met at a Starbucks in California. I introduced myself and told him about my work, and it went from there. So there are some subtle differences between the play and the book, and a number of those are driven by Khaled himself.”
Once the idea was up and running, Matthew proceeded to thoroughly research the project. “I spent about nine months researching, and one of my best sources was Khaled’s father-in-law. He lives in the San Francisco Bay area, so I would meet with him, read books on Afghan history and culture, and then I would go over to his house and we would sit down and I would talk to him about it.
“I wanted to be very careful about not taking something out that was really essential in some way to Afghan culture or politics, or misrepresenting something because I’m collapsing two scenes together, which maybe makes perfect sense in adapting a book, but (not) in this cultural context.”
Music forms an important part of The Kite Runner on stage. This production features renowned tabla player Hanif Khan, whose audiences have included Prince Charles and Sir Paul McCartney.
“Every production of The Kite Runner has used live musicians, at my urging, and I’m thrilled that this production has it. I think it adds a lot, having that live musician on stage, and it can underscore scenes. There’s something about that live person on stage which, for me, is part of the theatricality of the piece.”
For anyone who’s never seen The Kite Runner but is thinking about catching it at The REP, Matthew has this message: “It’s a great story - I think that’s the big thing in The Kite Runner. It’s an amazing story, a rollercoaster of ups and downs, twists and turns. If you like a good story, this is the play for you.”
As for his future plans, Matthew is turning his attention to another area of Asia for his next project.
“I’m working on a new play, which is still in draft form, about the 1953 coup in Iran, when Britain and the United States put out of power Iran’s Prime Minister [Mohammad Mosaddegh] and installed the Shah. So this is a play about the CIA and the British agents who pulled off that coup.
The Kite Runner shows at Birmingham Repertory Theatre from Tuesday 13 to Saturday 24 March.
Interview by Stephen Taylor