Come From Away

Thank you all for the warm welcome at The Venue MK last week, and for meeting me after the show. I thoroughly enjoyed your excellent production of Come From Away.  

Synopsis – Come From Away is a stage musical telling the true story of the small Newfoundland town of Gander, which housed and cared for nearly 7,000 stranded airline passengers after 38 planes were diverted to its airport following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The show, with music and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein, explores themes of unexpected friendship, generosity, and compassion in the face of tragedy, as the "come from aways" and the "Islanders" of Gander form enduring bonds. 

Your fourteen actors portrayed a wide range of characters, representing both the local townspeople and the stranded passengers from different countries, with many characters based on real individuals. Everyone was wonderful, acting, vocal work, accents, everything. I was totally stunned and could not believe this was an amateur production. I felt you were better than the professional show I saw a few years ago. The cohesive way your moved and generous acting styles meant the whole production was amazing.

Everyone gave their all to their parts, but there were some outstanding performances from Rachel Smith as Diane, super vocals and really lovely acting moments. Leah Scott as Beverly – I was mesmerised by your singing voice and felt your character acting was excellent. Becca Davis – your characterisation and acting choice as Annette were lovely. Colin Woolmer as Claude gave a well-rounded character that told the story of someone with a huge responsibility, leading from the front, with aplomb. I loved the character Bonnie played by Vicky Amies. You played her with great integrity and demonstrated compassion for the animals and their situation really well. Also, David Russell playing Nick – your accents were excellent, I really believed your English accent, especially surprised to hear your real voice after the show. Overall, every single person on stage was delightful, with strong characters, amusing storytelling, and wonderful vocals.

Your production used a minimal set, just a few chairs and tables, to represent the various locations like airplanes, buses and buildings, allowing the focus to remain on the story and the actors. The backdrop was huge, (Hippofrog Productions and Scenery Solutions,) utilising a slatted wood frame, with a wide door opening which depicted as the airplane loading door. Your chair-ography and stage prop moves were all slick and representative of the action taking places in different locations.  Your show highlights the profound acts of kindness and hospitality shown by the people of Gander, transforming what could have been a difficult experience into a story of human connection and hope. Your actors gave their all whilst building character connections through the whole story.

Some specific characters are based on real people, such as Captain Beverly Bass, (Leah Scott) the first female American Airlines captain, and a couple, Nick and Diane, (David Russell and Rachel Smith), who met and fell in love during the crisis and later married. While acknowledging the fear and uncertainty of the attacks, the musical is primarily a celebration of human resilience and the best of humanity. In fact, the story continues beyond 9/11, with the show depicting the return of the passengers to Gander on the 10th anniversary of the tragedy to express their gratitude.

Musically a triumph! Leigh Smith taking on the role of conductor last minute, lead the band very skilfully. (Ed Jones – bass, Liz Guest – Violin, Kate Brewster – Flutes, Whistles, Sprano sax, Andrew Longland-Meech – Keys, Ani Savvides – Guitars, Danny Barton- 12 sting guitar, Lex Arnold and drums, and Daniel Phillis – percussion.) The sound you created was excellent; I could not fault it. Vocal harmonies were wonderful, accents excellent and over all every actor on stage looked like they were having a wonderful time, chopping and changing scenes, small costume changes emphasised different characters and swapping different accents with skill. Other people involved with the rehearsals and pre show work were Craig Green, Andrew Longland-Meech, Ed Jones and the staff of The Venue MK.

Well done director Charlotte Pearson, a thrilling, heartfelt production which brought the message of kindness and resilience to your audience. Your thoughtful direction enabled your creative team to shine.  I felt that you and your co-director Leah Scott (also playing Beverly) worked really well together. I enjoyed the lighting by Martin Putman, very dynamic and creative. The overall sound manfully balanced and managed by Kevin Amies. You both worked resourcefully to enhance the audience’s enjoyment of each moment. Props by Emily Thomas, enhanced a lot of the action including the fish! Expertly Stage managed by Steve Young, who worked hard to enable swift changes of scene and the whole show felt well-paced and slick. Your whole audience were on their feet at the end, applauding your skill ad clapping along until the final note, just wonderful.

Your programme (Leigh Smith) is lovely and a great souvenir with all the details of your creative team, musicians and actors. I enjoyed the passport style information, which is very in keeping within the show. Sadly, I can’t enter it into the NODA programme competition as you have not included the new NODA logo or the essential paragraph. Details here, I hope you can include them next time. Also, I’d like to remind you to add NODA logo to your facebook and website. https://www.noda.org.uk/programme-and-poster-competition Your promotional material on facebook was excellent and I hope this worked well for you to achieve further good sales for the rest of your run. You certainly deserve to sell out! It seems Dreams ‘n’ Wishes are going from strength to strength and I look forward to meeting you all next time.

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