I don’t think you’ll ever see a musical more grounded, wholesome and feel-good wonderful as COME FROM AWAY which is at the Wales Millennium Centre this week.
I’m going to start our review with a simple – this show is incredible. Without a shadow of doubt it is right up there as one of my favourites, and I’ve seen a lot over the years. You will laugh, a laugh and cry in equal measures.
This is one of those shows that tells the story of ordinary people, living their everyday ordinary lives, when a series of events, or one major one to be precise, throws them together. That event was the 9/11 attacks and the real life story brings together 7,000 temporary arrivals, into a town with a population of just 9,000 people when 38 planes made an emergency landing in Gander in Newfoundland on their disused airstrip.
Okay, there’s the first question, how do you bring a gathering of 16,000 people onto the stage to tell this remarkable story – more of that shortly.
When I say this is an ordinary story I do mean that as a compliment. To be able to take what should be a very ‘unsexy’ tale and turn it into a multi award-winning musical takes some doing, but do it they most certainly have. And key to the show’s success, and story itself is one thing – ‘heart‘.
From the moment we are dropped into this small town tale we were gripped. While the whole world was trying to come to terms with an attack on New York, the likes of which we hadn’t seen in our lifetime, the residents of Gander were rallying around to support thousands of people who had no idea where they were, or in fact how they would ever get back home.
First of all, let’s get some reaction from the opening night audience, who were clearly as taken with the show as we were. We also got to meet three of the stars after a full on, non-stop performance.
For me, what the show does is remind us just how amazing us humans are. When the chips are down and action is needed before words, we are very good at pulling together. Don’t get me wrong, there are challenges faced in this 100 per cent story, which is based on many interview with the real life Newfoundlanders in the community.
Transport needs to be found to get the arrivals from A to Z, this just happened to be at the time when school bus drivers were on strike and had to be, shall we say persuaded, to cross the picket line.
Then they had to find food, beds, medicine and all the things that keep us going day by day, and when you’ve almost doubled your towns entire population overnight, that presents a few challenges.
But I’m not here to tell you the whole story, that you will see in the show. The production itself is what brings these stories together, and the way it’s crafted is what makes it work so well. These individual plots are brought together with some of the most rousing, foot stomping songs you’ll hear. The stage is minimal, but perfect, and the chairs are as crucial to the plot as ‘kissing the fish’ (go see the show and you’ll know what I mean).
The seven-piece band are on stage throughout the show, hidden behind trees and parts of the set, but they are they and definitely feel a real part of the unfolding tale.
The actors, and we have a mighty fine cast on the Donald Gordon stage this week, is led by AMANDA HENDERSON who you may know from BBC’s Casualty and JAMAL ZULFIQAR who was in Welsh National Opera’s Migrations. There’s Mamma Mia favourite SARA POYZER and NATASHA J BARNES who we met in our above film. But this is very much a show about a company, both of players and those featured in the story.
The cast really earn their money here, playing multiple roles, slipping into different outfits and occasionally slipping into the chorus. As far as I could see, pretty much everyone is on stage pretty much the whole time. There’s also no break in the show, it’s 100 intense minutes, start to finish, and is all the better for it. To be honest I don’t think I could have handled a break in the story.
There are some harsh reality’s faced during the storytelling too. When you have 7,000 people from all over the world, thrown together with 9,000 Canadian inhabitants, where cultures, beliefs and tolerances and not all equal, you are bound to have a clash. The writing doesn’t shy away from these at all. In fact the power of the story is seeing how people can learn and change, especially as they reflect on the 9/11 attacks, which changed our world forever.
In some stories we have a hero, in COME FROM AWAY, we have thousands of them. Real life, everyday Clark Kent’s who pulled on their red pants and cape, and flew into action when it was most needed. We enter a little piece of the world which existed when the rest of it was seemingly falling apart.
It’s so easy to be cynical about stories like this and brush them off as as bit of fun and fantasy, but this couldn’t be further from the truth here.
I cannot recommend the show enough, but warn you, you will leave with a feeling of genuine warmth and compassion, as you wipe the tears from your eyes. While we worry about money and stuff, the thing we all have in abundance is the capacity to be kind and let our natural instincts kick in when the chips are down. Nothing demonstrates this more than what you’ll see on the WMC stage this week.
As I left the theatre last night people were talking about the production but the one word I heard the most was ‘kindness‘. Despite all the issues and mixed cultures coming together, and the problems that initially caused, when you talk about Come From Away, it’s the heart and soul in the story and the kindness and compassion shown by the Gander residents.
It is a beautiful, heartwarming, and I’ve got to say, the most surprisingly funny production you’ll see. It’s proper laugh out loud at times.
COME FROM AWAY is at the Wales Millennium Centre through to Saturday 6th April. Performances are at 7:30pm each evening with a 2:30pm matinee on Thursday and Saturday. To get your ticket go HERE.
you can also take a look at our original show feature HERE.
