Come From Away review: An uplifting, hopeful musical that will restore your faith in humanity
The message to take away from this show is that we all have the power to make the world a kinder place.
Everyone knows about the 9/11 attacks, but unless you’ve seen Come From Away, you’ve likely not heard about the 38 planes that were diverted to Gander, Newfoundland during the aftermath. For five days, 10,000 residents welcomed more than 6,500 “come from aways”, a Newfoundland term for a visitor from beyond the island.
It’s a story that doesn’t exactly scream to be adapted into a musical, but Irene Sankoff and David Hein have pulled it off with humour – as well as immense heart. They visited Gander on the 10th anniversary of the attacks to interview locals and returning passengers – meaning that most of the people and their stories in Come From Away are in fact real, with some merged together.
The musical started life on Broadway in 2017 before landing in the West End in 2019, and now it’s embarking on its first tour of the UK and Ireland. In the toe-tapping opening number, Welcome to the Rock, we’re introduced to all 12 cast members, who play 84 characters (through switching accessories), including the islanders and the “plane people”, as they’re called. The show is very narrative-driven, as we’re told about events through different individuals’ perspectives.
There’s the former mayor of Gander, Claude Elliott (played by Nicholas Pound), kind-hearted teacher Beulah Davis (Amanda Henderson), and Bonnie Harris (Rosie Glossop), who worked in Gander’s animal shelter and cared for the 19 animals that were on the planes, including dogs, cats and two bonobos.
As for the passengers, it’s impossible not to love following the story of English oil executive Nick Marson (Daniel Crowder) and Texan Diane Gray (Kirsty Hoiles), who strike up a romance in Gander, while LA-based gay couple Kevin Jung (Jamal Zulfiqar) and Kevin Tuerff (Mark Dugdale) provide loads of moments of light relief. This is a truly outstanding ensemble piece, where everyone shines.
The biggest moving parts on the stage are chairs, which double-up as bus and plane seats. The band are positioned on the stage and often join in with the cast for a good old jolly knees-up. The show runs for 1h 40m without an interval (something I personally love and think should be done more) so that the audience can invest in the characters and it also gives a sense of how chaotic and fast-paced those five days in 2001 were.
The citizens of Gander do, and do, and do some more, providing food, clothing, shelter and kind words to their new guests, all while neglecting to sleep and asking for nothing in return. Gander is a place where you can leave your door unlocked and you don’t need to protect your wallet, where the people are good and kind. The musical number Screech In is one of the best bits in the musical, where “you’ll be a Newfoundlander” if you down a shot of Screech (a type of rum) and kiss a codfish, a tradition all the newcomers are subjected to.
Within all the jokes and joviality, I wish some of the more serious moments in the musical were given more time to breathe, like Hannah O'Rourke (Bree Smith) not being able to get hold of her firefighter son in New York, the two Kevins struggling in their relationship, and the shock at first hearing about the news of 9/11. World-famous Muslim chef Ali (also Zulfiqar) encounters Islamophobia as people with various religions, languages, and food preferences all come together, not always in perfect harmony.
Captain Beverley Bass (Sara Poyzer) is the pilot who was ordered to land at Gander International Airport on September 11, 2001, and we learn about her journey becoming the first female captain for American Airlines in the powerful Me and the Sky, where her love of the job becomes tainted due to the terror attacks.
In the song Blankets and Bedding, the lyrics, “I can't watch the news anymore” resonate in current times, where tensions are high and there’s a general sense of unease and unrest. No, things might not always be “sunshine and rainbows”, particularly not in our increasingly fractured world, but Come From Away, despite its sometimes unrealistic radical optimism, is uplifting and hopeful – and it will restore your faith in humanity.
The realists, or cynics, among us might be thinking, “Is this all too good to be true?" Well, no, actually. “Are people really like this?” It turns out that yes, they are.
This was just further reinforced during the post-show announcement, where we were told about theatre blogger Lydia Greatrix, who was welcomed on stage. She is following the show’s UK tour, paying forward good causes in every place she visits. Inspired by the charity Pay It Forward 9/11, and the generous people of Newfoundland, she’s doing this in memory of her friend Laura Townsend, who saw Come From Away more than 150 times around the world.
How can you not love a show that inspires something as lovely as that? The message to take away is that we all have the power to make the world a kinder place. Wherever we are, we could all do with being a bit more Newfoundlander.
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When and where can I see Come From Away?
Come From Away is currently showing at the New Wimbledon Theatre until Saturday 12th October.
After that the show will be heading on tour to the following:
- 15th – 26th Oct 2024 – Norwich, Theatre Royal
- 5th – 9th Nov 2024 – Wolverhampton, Grand Theatre
- 12th – 16th Nov 2024 – Canterbury, Marlowe Theatre
- 19th – 23rd Nov 2024 – Chichester, Festival Theatre
- 26th – 30th Nov 2024 – Milton Keynes, Theatre
- 3rd Dec 2024 – 5th Jan 2025 – Salford, The Lowry
How to get Come From Away tickets
The Wimbledon and Milton Keynes dates are available at ATG Tickets, otherwise you'll need to head to the respective venue sites.
Buy Come From Away tickets at ATG Tickets
You can also check out our Why Am I So Single? review and the longest running West End shows.
Authors
Laura Rutkowski is the Junior Commissioning Editor at Radio Times magazine, where she looks after a column called "What it's like to…", which spotlights behind-the-scenes roles within the TV and film industry – from stunt coordinators to costume designers. She loves finding out how productions are made and enjoys covering a wide variety of genres. Laura is half-American and half-British and joined Radio Times in 2022. She has a degree in Psychology and a Master's in Magazine Journalism.
