Tears are welling in my eyes as I think back to this moving story of two young boys growing up in Afghanistan and the different fates that befall them – tempered by their own personalities and the political, social and economic events that they live through.

It stars just 10 actors (of which there is just one woman), plus a drummer, who are aided by a few different backdrops and a bit of clever lightening.

Yet the audience is transported through three decades and from the streets of Kabul to the sunny beaches of California on emotional roller coaster which explores father-son relationships, social values, love and violence – including some brutally disturbing incidents.

This is a sad story, but it is peppered with biting humour and hope and shines a different light onto Afghanistan, the country which has been at the centre of the War on Terror, Osama bin Laden and opium.

May be it is not a surprise that the play is so good as it is based on Khaled Hosseini’s 2003 international best seller.

But replicating such a complex story which spans such a long period and crosses the globe cannot have been an easy feat.

Speaking ahead of the opening night in Birmingham playwright Matthew Spangler explained: “Part of the pleasure in reading the Kite Runner and, I hope, seeing the play is that there is just so much in it.”

He met Khaled through a mutual friend in San Francisco before he set about writing the piece and it is obvious that the author’s input has been invaluable to its success – 95 per cent of his notes to Spangler contained changes he would have put in the book.

Attention to detail is another ingredient that has helped to ensure the impact of the story is maximised.

A cultural consultant is hired for each production and Spangler re-writes some of the prose to suit the different actors playing the main parts.

Superb acting by Nicholas Karimi (Assef), Andre Costin (Hassan/Sohrab) and David Ahmad (Kamal) ensured the story is portrayed with full impact.

Runs until October 4.