Most of my plays are adaptations. I also teach courses at a university in California about how refugees and asylum-seekers are represented through the arts. So The Kite Runner sits at a particular intersection between my playwriting and academic work. I first read the book in 2005, and I thought it could make an engaging piece of theater. Its complex characters, non-stop narrative, many heartbreaking moments, representation of an Afghan immigrant experience in the U.S. and broad historical canvas seemed richly theatrical to me. Above all, though, The Kite Runner is a story of guilt and redemption. Amir’s words are a plea for forgiveness—from us and from himself. Khaled warmly accepted my offer to adapt the book, commented on drafts of the script, and introduced me to lifelong collaborators like Humaira and Salar. San José State University staged the first production in 2007, followed by theaters in the United States and eventually worldwide. The version you see here started in the United Kingdom in 2013 under the direction of Giles Croft and is the product of a superb creative team. It has been incredible to watch the journey of this play over the past two decades from California to London and Broadway, and now on a U.S. tour.