Tuesday, 30th April 2024 at Leeds Grand Theatre
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Come From Away is an extraordinary true story told with style and humour in this big-hearted and award-winning musical. Hearing that 9/11 provides the backdrop for this tale may seem a bit jarring (that was certainly my reaction before seeing it in the West End many years ago), but this story is one of unity and goodness in the face of great tragedy. On that day in 2001, Gander, Newfoundland found its population inflating to almost twice its usual size when 38 planes were forced to land unexpectedly. And when almost 7,000 strangers arrived, locals set to work to make their unexpected visitors feel welcome…
Book, music and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein move between the ordinary everyday to moments of endearing comedy and sobering moments of sadness. It’s a tricky thing, to strike the right notes when delivering light-hearted scenes of relief alongside the more serious, silent moments of grief, and Sankoff and Hein pull it off well here. Whether it’s the foot-stomping, rousing, full ensemble opening number (“Welcome to the Rock”) or a later heartfelt ballad (“I am Here”), Sankoff and Hein’s music propels the story with great feeling.
Most impressive about Come From Away though is its fantastic sense of pace and propulsion; it would be so easy to make this a two and a half hour stroll through a fantastic story, but instead the creative team treats us to a rollercoaster of emotions in an impressively energised ensemble piece. Direction from Christopher Ashley and musical staging from Kelly Devine is full of fluency and seamlessness, and they also offer up some great sequences of stylised physicality, with the sequence for “Somewhere in the Middle of Nowhere” being particularly memorable.
With the live and on-stage band providing the pulsating, beating heart of the story and gently underscoring scenes along the way, this show is an impressively engrossing piece of musical theatre. And the story itself is of course a fascinating one: thousands of strangers brought together by unfortunate chance, with their lives suddenly on pause in a new land. And our representative group are an entertaining mix, with the superb cast playing multiple roles as both passengers and locals, narrating events in canon and at impressive speed, and moving minor set pieces as they go for slick segues between scenes.
Aside from Sara Poyzer’s charismatic take on the groundbreaking Pilot Beverley (complete with a beautiful rendition of “Me and the Sky”, couples lead the way somewhat. We have two endearing strangers finding connection (Daniel Crowder’s Nick; Kirsty Hoiles’ Diane) and a beautifully Yin-Yang couple (Mark Dugdale’s Kevin; Jamal Zulfiqar’s…Kevin) providing plenty of comic relief. They’re joined by Bree Smith’s (very moving) Hannah – mother to a firefighter in NYC; and Oliver Jacobson and Dale Mathurin’s fantastically smooth variety of fleeting roles (Jacobson getting most connection with his kind-natured rabbi and saucepot local on cleanup duty; Mathurin with his guarded New Yorker and idolised pilot routine).
Then we have the salt-of-the-earth Gander group: heart of gold Bonnie (Rosie Glossop), who will pay no mind to restrictions when animals are in need; Natasha J. Barnes’ Janice, the energetic and sweet-natured reporter; and Nicholas Pound’s various takes on town mayors across the region – which provides a lovely highlight of strategic simplicity for quick and easy laughs. Amanda Henderson’s Beulah is a standout for her comforting can-do attitude and general sense of warmth (if I ever find myself in need of the kindness of strangers, I’ll be looking for a Beulah!).
Ultimately, for a show with such a tragic backdrop, Come From Away keeps us rooted in a sense of upbeat community spirit throughout and leaves us with an uplifting message: “we all come from away”, somehow – and it’s down to us to show the best of humanity, even when the worst of it rears its head.
Come From Away is at Leeds Grand Theatre until May 11th 2024 – more information and tickets can be found here.
Always Time For Theatre 