Come From Away – Birmingham Hippodrome

I’d never heard of Gander and I probably couldn’t put my finger on Newfoundland without Google Maps but in the week following the 911 in attacks in 2001 38 planes were redirected from their intended destination and landed there instead. 7000 passengers unexpectedly arrived on the island and this is their story. Not the most obvious subject for a musical or is it…? “Come From Away” opened in San Diego in 2015 and, after moving to Broadway, went on to win Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Book, Best Actress and Best Direction – quite clearly the ideal subject for a musical, then. In the safe hands of composer/lyricist Irene Sankoff and husband, David Hein, both of whom where in New York when the twin Towers fell, “Come From Away” has proved itself a heart-warming and humbling work which a previous critic has called “emotionally transcendent”.

Starting with a thumping, urgent welcome to the Rock the show imparts the interwoven stories of the passengers who, although inconvenienced by the redirection, are relieved to have avoided catastrophe and follows the relationships between passengers and islanders as they explore the new world and discover what it means to survive….

It’s undoubtedly a triumphant of composition, structure, design and narrative construction and a passionate ode to humanity and love. The ensemble cast grab the show by the throat and totally commit to its buoyant message and up tempo pace which is filled with equal servings of humour and pathos. Rarely do you see a show which encapsulates the human spirit leaving us entertainment, moved, enriched and inspired. The audience sat enthralled through its interval less 90 minutes with only two opportunities to clap throughout – one of the many reasons we erupted into an ovation at the end. And not a reluctant ovation, we’d be bound together so resolutely by the storytelling it was impossible not to stand and thank them.

“Come From Away” is riddled with joyous life enhancing, borderline folksy music which truly seem to come from the root of the island and the stand out moments the opening number (“Welcome to the Rock”) and the kissing the cod sequence (which’ll make sense when you go see it which you will) — the only breather where we can applaud.

A band of 8, a cast 15 (including the ever reliable Nicholas Pound who I last saw over 30 years in “The Land of Smiles” in Hanley!) and 11 production electricians and a stunning direction from Christopher Ashley come together to make this a breathtakingly sincere, vibrant and human celebration of all of us and the epitome what a theatre can truly to do.

Reviewer: Peter Kinnock

Reviewed: 21st May 2024

North West End UK Rating: