The perfect story of hope in humanity and finding light in the darkest of times, Come from Away is inspired by a very true story of a small town named Gander in Newfoundland in Canada that rose to the challenge of housing 7000 people who found themselves rerouted to this small community after air traffic control demand all planes to land due to 9/11. The town transforms overnight from a small local community to housing thousands of people from around the globe.
Come From Away makes its long-awaited UK tour after successful runs both on London's West End and on Broadway. The show opened to great fanfare, winning the 2019 Olivier Award for Best New Musical. When theatres closed in 2020, it bounced back, reopening in 2021 and running until early 2023. The show is both moving and inspiring with comedic moments allowing you to connect with the wide range of characters you encounter from Gander residents to airline passengers and those working on board the planes. Everyone has a story to tell and the cast doubles up to play a mixture of town's people, airline passengers and crew. This allows for clever transitions between the actors playing passengers on the planes to then being an active Gander town council having meetings on how to deal with the sudden unexpected influx of people.
The music of the piece written by Irene Sankoff and David Hein who also write the piece, really compliments the story with the big opening number "Welcome to the Rock" being a highlight. The number gives you an introduction to Newfoundland and its people declaring "I'm an Islander" showing their admiration for their home town. "Me and the Sky" is also a very powerful song where the pilot, Beverley sings about how she got into flying and how her life's ambition has been fulfilled becoming the first female pilot. Also, "Somewhere in the Middle of Nowhere" is a fantastic number where the company reflect on the experiences they have had whilst being looked after by the Gander people.
As this is an ensemble piece, each actor performed fantastically. They covered a range of people from pilots to town council members, and are brilliant theatre performers. The set design by Beowulf Boritt is very clever and fluidly adapts to each scene. You feel like you are in the middle of Newfoundland with trees, and wooden panels creating the Canadian community’s scenery. Additionally, the show feels both intimate in moments and also grand in the large ensemble numbers, filling the vast Edinburgh Playhouse stage well.
Come From Away is the perfect show in finding light in even the saddest of times. As you leave the theatre you will have a reviewed sense of hope in people and a realisation of what amazing things can happen when a community comes together to help those who have found themselves in a place far from home.
This show has been rated ☆☆☆☆☆
Review by Callum Stott.
Come From Away runs at Edinburgh Playhouse until the 21st Of September. Tickets here for the Edinburgh Dates: https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/come-from-away/edinburgh-playhouse/,
The show will then perform at Kings Theatre, Glasgow next week from the 24th to the 28th of September. Tickets here for the Glasgow dates: https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/come-from-away/kings-theatre-glasgow/
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