Information for A Thousand Splendid Suns at Playhouse, Nottingham (Play). Mariam is only fifteen when she is sent to Kabul to marry Rasheed. Laila was born a generation later. When Laila is orphaned, her and Mariam's lives collide as they are forced to share the same husband. Under the Taliban take over, life is a desperate struggle against starvation, brutality and fear. As the war rages and the years pass, the country grows more oppressive and so does Rasheed. But the bonds of love, family and friendship may offer the only escape and drive them to overcome the most daunting obstacles.