Come From Away

It’s very exciting to see a show that is new to the amateur scene especially when you haven’t seen it before. Like much of the world, the horrors of 9/11 were tempered a smidge by the heartwarming story of Gander – a tiny town in Newfoundland, Canada who were forced to host around 7000 stranded air passengers who were unable to land in the USA due to the imposition of a no-fly zone. This essentially almost doubled the town’s population within the space of a few hours, leaving residents scrambling to help these people, some of whom had been on a plane for 28 hours! The story is one of the human spirit shining strong, a beacon in even the darkest of times. Mixed with a little Canadian hospitality, the Newfoundland pragmatism and probably a good few measures of Newfoundland Screech! But it isn’t scared to confront the worst of the human animal – both in the ones that perpetrated such a heinous act but also in the treatment of one of the passengers who just happened to be from a similar part of the world and the discrimination and suspicion he faced.

When watching an amateur version of a production you have seen done professionally, there is often a degree of allowance. We know that both the expertise and the budgets in the amateur world (the former quite astounding and the latter usually stretched to its limit!) are different compared to somewhere like the West End. However, with this, I genuinely couldn’t see how the staging could have been done better, it was exquisite. There’s always more can be spent on “stuff” but that doesn’t guarantee anything about the execution and this was pretty much flawless. The simplicity employed overlaid with the features of the Rep (seeing the revolving stage in action always elicits a covetous response from yours truly!) made for seamless changes between the bar, the plane, the community centre and more. The choreography of this had obviously been extremely well rehearsed and the hours of work translated into a smooth, exceptionally professional production.

The sound was generally very good, no tech gremlins making themselves known. There were a couple of instances where the dialogue was being delivered over the music and the music could have been a little quieter to facilitate the dialogue clarity (this is an issue I have seen across many different productions and different venues) although it didn’t distract from the overall enjoyment. The accents were amazing – to an uninitiated ear, I wondered where the Irish influence had come from but that just showed my ignorance of the Newfoundland accent! Kudos as you nailed it! There were a few incidences where the delivery was quite quick and could have benefited from being a little slower in parts whilst our ears got used to the dialects though I appreciate the director would not have wanted to lose pace. But a few phrases not quite heard correctly did not detract from the overall delivery.

The set worked perfectly and was complexly simple!! From an audience perspective, gloriously unfettered and slick but no mistake should be made about the design complexity and the work that would have gone into making it all function so well. Costume was similarly unfussy with simple changes between scenes (and sometimes mid-scene) to transition between characters and settings. The audience were trusted to be able to keep up and even though we may be talking about a jacket being switched or a hat being donned, the characterisation meant we didn’t skip a beat.

But what really made this show pop, was the quality of the performances across the board. Not only the proficiency with accents and the characterisation when switching quickly between characters but the handling of complex emotions and the bewilderment from both sides about the situation they have been thrown into. The musical aspect was strong throughout so props to the band and the musical direction across the production.

The cast took on at least 3 roles each, some kind of had a “main” role within that but they, without exception, executed every role with precision and aplomb. The vocal performances were on point and the acting encompassed both the humorous and the deeply moving, often within minutes within the same scene! In this production, the principal cast were essentially their own ensemble as it really was a team event. We saw strangers falling in love, intimates falling out of love, the love of a mother desperate for news and overall, how humans are stronger united in the face of adversity and division (can the world please take note!).

I have however, after all this, spotted a big problem! The next time I go and see Come From Away, it won’t be my first time. And Five Towns Theatre have set the bar so high that at that point, I definitely WILL have many expectations! Well, “what a sin” as the residents of Gander would say, this production was “best kind” and I can’t wait to see what is next from Five Towns. Thank you so much for the kind invitation and your hospitality.

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