San Jose Rep's The Kite Runner


Proof you can do a lot with a little

While walking up to the theatre last night, I commented to my S.O. that I wondered how San Jose Rep would bring the book The Kite Runner to life in its world premiere production of the play.

I wondered not just because the book deals with war and has core settings that seem rather expansive: the kite flying contest, the hustle and bustle of the San Jose Flea Market. I haven't seen the movie adaptation of the book, but I knew that a movie could capture such settings and put your right in the middle of them.

I actually worried more about a couple of pivotal scenes from the book that rely on depicting nearly inhuman amounts of one-on-one violence. Not war scenes, scenes, rather, of individual human conflicts. how could they depict those believably, and if they did...would we want to see it?

My S.O. helpfully suggested that it might be most effective to have us only hear the sounds, while the action ostensibly took place offstage. That is indeed how they handled one of the two scenes I was wondering most about. (and it was the right choice.) The second pivotal scene of violence happens late enough in the play that you've already bought in, your disbelief is fully suspended. You don't need to see blood, you don't need to hear the bones crack, to be on the edge of your seat.

This is the penultimate show of our first full season as a San Jose Rep subscriber, and we have been mostly very pleased with their productions. What they are best at is achieving a lot through the best tools at their disposal (their actors and directors) and challenging their designers to come up with the sparest way to convey the richest surroundings. They do a lot with a little, in other words.

The Kite Runner relies heavily on adult protagonist and narrator Amir, played by Barzin Akhavan. Some of his strongest moments come as he takes over the role of Amir as a teen/young adult from Craig Piaget who did an excellent job portraying Amir as a tween/teen. This is one of many shows this season at the Rep that relied heavily on a narrator. I won't mind if next season there are a few more shows that rely a little less on the convention.

I don't want to be a spoiler (unlike the couple sitting behind us who, as intermission started, started discussing a key Act 2 plot point). So I will simply say that the heart of this story is really about relationships and power. What we will do to maintain relationships, to improve relationships, to trade in one relationship for another if we are forced to.

None of that requires fancy production values, it only requires a good story and great storytellers.

The Kite Runner was moving and engrossing. If you have a chance, there is still time to see it.

Posted: Sun - March 29, 2009 at 12:26 PM       EmailFeedback

©