Reviews

★★★★ The Kite Runner is “beautifully performed – I left with tears in my eyes” - Dominic Maxwell, The Times

“A breath-taking, stunning performance at Dubai Opera.” - Time Out Dubai

★★★★★ “The best page-to-stage show since War Horse. . . . Matthew Spangler’s adaptation held the crowd spellbound. . . . Heartbreakingly good stage version of a popular story earns its place in the West End.”

“Spangler skillfully balances the scenes in Asia with those of the Afghan refugees seeking to maintain their dignity and culture in the West. . . . It cannot but remind us of the thousands of vulnerable children in Syria today.” - The Stage Magazine

★★★★★ “An enthralling tale, beautifully told.” Theatre pick of the week. - Sunday Express

“The Kite Runner soars.” - The Telegraph

★★★★ The Independent

★★★★ “A near universal standing ovation, as a people-pleasing tear jerker The Kite Runner delivers” - Live Theatre UK,

★★★★★ “Wonderfully powerful, Giles Croft’s heartfelt production of Khaled Hosseini’s best selling novel makes a welcome return to the West End.” - Love London Culture

★★★★★ “Enthralling, emotionally-charged and unmissable storytelling at its singular best” - UK Reviews

★★★★★ “The first ‘must see’ of 2017!” - Spy in the Stalls

“A hit that deserves to travel the country.” - The Telegraph (London)

“Play adaptation is worthy of Hosseini’s bestseller . . . luminous and touching.” - Daily Mail (London)

“Magical moments that still the house.” - The Stage (London)

“Beautifully performed . . . Ben Turner’s intense mix of anguish and self-loathing as Amir is both moving and painful, while Farshid Rokey is simply excellent as Hassan.” - Financial Times (London)

“A phenomenally powerful piece of theatre.” - British Theatre Guide

“This is honestly the best play I have ever seen at the Theatre Royal and the best thing I have seen throughout the Brighton Festival. It was fascinating, intricate; with plenty of plot twists to surprise you, and made for compelling viewing. If you go and see one play this year, make it this one.” - Sussex Express

“The rousing standing ovation was richly deserved.” - The Brighton Magazine

“Spangler’s brilliant adaptation makes for one of the most intensely moving theatrical experiences I have experienced.” - The Latest (U.K.)

“It is not often I give a standing ovation during a night at the theatre and it is even more infrequent that I am moved to tears by a live performance. Yet, at The Kite Runner last night I found myself doing both things simultaneously, along with the majority of the audience in the Theatre Royal.” - Brighton Fringe Review

“Utterly gripping.” - Liverpool Echo

“Wonderfully told.” - Liverpool Daily Post

“It is with no surprise the production received a lengthy standing ovation.” - Liverpool Live

“This production wrings every drop of emotion from the audience and was rewarded with a well-deserved standing ovation.” - Click Liverpool

“It’s absolutely brilliant. Go see it!” - BBC Radio Merseyside

“A powerful tour-de-force.” - Liverpool Confidential

“Intensely, relentlessly gripping.” - What’s On Stage (Liverpool)

“A great production of a great adaptation of a great novel, and it’s probably one of the best plays you are going to see performed in the city this year, so whether or not you’ve read the book, you really shouldn’t miss it.” - Left Lion (Nottingham)

“A hugely effective theatrical experience.” - Nottingham Post

“Beautifully paced . . . Spangler’s scenes seem to fly by.” - Exeunt Magazine (U.K.)

“Matthew Spangler has managed in his adaptation a synthesis which transfers beautifully to the stage.” - Reviews Gate (U.K.)

“A wise adaptation flying high.” - Behind the Arras (U.K.)

“A compassionate, deeply moving, event-packed journey across eras, cultures, national boundaries, and the emotional terrain of tumultuous lives.” - Boston Globe

“Once in a great while, there comes a moment in a darkened theater when one suddenly becomes aware of the thunderous silence that occurs as an audience holds its collective breath. It’s then that we remember just how uniquely exciting and involving live theater can be.” - South Shore Critic (Boston)

“The Kite Runner is exhilarating drama.” - Calgary Herald

“A gripping and fully realized theatrical experience that brings its source material to life. Boston audiences are bound to love this play.” - Edge New England

“Absolutely beautiful.” Hear Jared Bowen’s review on 89.7’s “Arts Ahead” - WGBH Boston

“A great, theatrical story filled with humanity and surprising hope for the future . . . The Kite Runner is the pinnacle of storytelling.” - Talkin’ Broadway

“Spangler’s beautifully crafted adaptation has retained Hosseini’s lyrical language, vivid imagery, and places the story’s integrity on stage. A must-see play.” - Theatre Mirror, New England’s Live Theatre Guide

“Graceful and heartfelt.” - BroadwayWorld.com

“Packed with emotion, integrity and, most of all, enormous heart.” - Arizona Daily Star

“The Kite Runner is both the most moving theater I’ve ever seen and a fascinating look into a society we know little about. . . . I was fighting tears throughout this powerful and touching story’s entire second act.” - KBAQ Phoenix

“Go see The Kite Runner . . . powerful, moving, amazing . . . magical . . .” - Phoenix Arts Examiner

“An exquisitely chiseled adaptation . . . epic production . . . The Kite Runner flies straight and true . . .” - San Jose Mercury News

“It’s hard to imagine that fans of The Kite Runner will be disappointed in the play.” - San Francisco Chronicle

“This Kite Runner impresses . . .” - Variety

“A high-flying version of Khaled Hosseini’s novel . . . a fast-paced visual epic . . . finally the adaptation it deserves.” - KJZZ Phoenix

“If you loved the book you will love the play.” - Tucson Stage

“The Kite Runner flies as high as theatre can go . . . heartfelt and stunning . . .” - Tucson Weekly

“If you are a theatre lover, this is one production that should not be missed . . . an amazing work of art . . .” - Hollister Free Lance

“Faithfully renders the heartbreaking lyricism of the book.” - Arizona Republic

“Immediately engrossing.” - KEZ Phoenix

“A tight, true script . . .” - Arizona Daily Star

“5 out of 5 stars” - Stark Silvercreek

“There are pages one could write about why you must see this stunning play.” - TheatreWorld Internet Magazine

“Captures the power of Hosseini’s novel.” - Cincinnati City Beat

“A genuine theatre of the mind . . . heroic.” - Leo Weekly (Louisville)

“A gripping story of loyalty and betrayal set against the turbulent backdrop of nearly 30 years of Afghan history.” - Louisville Courier Journal

“An epic . . . teary-eyed and yet joyful.” - Cleveland Plain Dealer

“Theatre at its finest! Bravo! Superb! Wow!” - Cool Cleveland

“Spellbinding . . . The narrative is jocular and dramatic, scintillating and vernacular by turns.” - WBUR, Boston

“Captivating . . . An auspicious return for the Poets’ Theatre.” - Boston Globe

“A strikingly dramatic text . . . exhilarating language . . . impressive and dazzling.” - The Arts Fuse, Boston

“A riveting theatre piece you will long remember.” - Broadway World

“This play is written with a passionate, raw, vernacular poetry of its own that makes the telling of the story near-to-overwhelming.” - Let’s Talk Off Broadway

“‘Albatross’ set the bar in excellence for 2018-19 with a brilliant script by Matthew Spangler and Benjamin Evett. Frank Kane delivered a bravura performance as The Ancient Mariner — and conceivably the outstanding performance of the decade.” - Maui News

“Albatross gives classic poem a gritty edge” - Arizona Republic Phoenix

“A stirring piece of theatre . . . as deep, rich, and striking as the sea herself.” - British Theatre Guide

“A visually enthralling saga.” - Fringe Guru, Edinburgh

More reviews available HERE.

“A compact, compelling and ultimately compassionate 90 minutes of live (and lively) theater.” - San Diego Union Tribune

“Spangler has achieved a remarkable feat in distilling this complex story into a 90-minute play. These are characters to care about.” - San Diego Gay and Lesbian Times

“A thought-provoking play about contrasts and perspectives, fascinating and brilliantly executed by San Diego Rep.” - Stage and Cinema

“A whirlwind tour through the hairpin curves of Los Angeles’ Topanga Canyon.” - San Diego.com

“A visually impacting and thought-provoking play on immigration and preconceived notions of those not like oneself.” - Poway News Chieftain

“All four characters … are captured across the full range of their humanity and their intense frailty.” - Charlene Baldridge, San Diego Theatre Critic

“The only bad thing about The Western Stage’s production of “Tortilla Curtain” is that you’re probably not going to be able to find tickets. The word is out about this powerful piece of theater, and with just two weekends remaining, you’ll need to act fast to scoop up any remaining seats or get on a stand-by list. The effort will be worth it.” - Monterey Herald

“Salinas theater goers have been getting a remarkable experience watching Matthew Spangler’s adaptation of T. C. Boyle’s novel “Tortilla Curtain.”” - Salinas Californian

“OLD TIME WARNER BROTHERS gangster movies sometimes advertised themselves as “Torn from Today’s Headlines.” Tortilla Curtain, which opened a four-weekend run at The Western Stage last Saturday, could claim to be torn from the political rhetoric of a 2016 presidential election.” - Performing Arts Monterey Bay

“Little Fish Theatre’s extraordinary production, Operation Ajax, an historical drama of the first order, helps in understanding this part of the knotted situation of the Middle East.” - Paul Myrvold's Theatre Notes

“It’s a truly tragic story of America’s often shortsighted and incoherent foreign policy…” - Random Lengths News

“…a mind-blowing, true tale of spies, subterfuge, and sabotage…” - Theatre Eddys

“Dance: Regal Remembrances” - Dawn (Karachi, Pakistan)

“Hilarious . . . Makes you want to read Cheever at the earliest opportunity.” - British Theatre Guide

“Ingenious!” - The Metro (Edinburgh)

“An evening of laughter” - Independent Weekly (Durham, NC)

“Lively and clever . . . A theatrical ‘Twilight Zone'” - Raleigh News and Observer