Come From Away

It doesn’t matter how many versions of this fantastic show you see and how many times: having only been released in the last two years there are many companies that are taking on the challenge of telling this story. Each company has a slightly different way of bringing out all the joy and the heartbreak and inspiration from this incredible true story of how the tiny town of Gander in Newfoundland suddenly almost doubled in size due to the diversions of passenger planes following the tragic events in the U.S. on 11 September 2001. There are so many strands of different stories in the musical, it’s tricky for any company to bring all the stories out, giving them all breathing space and light shone on them, without slowing down the pace. This one: Burgess Hill Musical Theatre Society, is one of the best versions of this show you are likely to see. 

It’s written for 12 people although companies can add more to their cast; this one, with 15, is all the better for having fewer people on stage so you can see the shapes and the movements they create. However, 15 is a huge challenge, as there is such a huge amount of multi-rolling, and actors have to be exceptional character actors as well as amazing singers, and able to accomplish timed movement work, and chairography – which never stops. This team, and they truly are a team: generous, giving each other space and support, moving in synchronicity when they can’t see each other, delivering great comic timing one minute and heartfelt emotional charge the next; is one of the best ensembles ever on the stage. Exceptionally well-rehearsed, confident, trusting each other, and amazing at what they do. 

Each member of the 15 cast could be singled out for praise, there are no dips or weak points. Everyone sings, literally and figuratively. And the voices are glorious, soaring, filled with unfiltered emotion yet in the group songs all blending together beautifully. Debbie Francis has such emotional clarity through her pitch perfect songs almost reaching in and tugging at your heartstrings; changing characters by changing her jacket. Jack Jackson Humphrey has perhaps the most difficult changes from unknowingly funny Kevin (asking if they’ve ever heard of vegetables) to the modest Egyptian who then faces such humiliating prejudice and more, including an African immobilised by fear on one of the buses. Adam Lay as adventurous Kevin – together they are a believable couple, going through their stories, plus the striking then non striking bus driver. Hannah Room is stunning as warm, welcoming Beulah, such gorgeous characterisation: the person we all recognise, want to know, or want to become best friends with. Rich Gill has an amazing array of characters including the Spaniard and one of the Captains, and his larger than life ‘dream sequences’ with Debbie Francis is pitched exactly right for comedy and relief during some tension which we all need as we cry laughing. The intertwining stories of Joanna Idle as Diane and Jonathan French as Nick give us such a sweet romantic interlude where we all start believing in love and hope again, their subtlety in telling the story is gorgeous: just right. Anna Coote is beautifully restrained as the nervous and naive Janice experiencing the worst first day on the job in the history of journalism, and it’s a joy to hear her singing voice as always. Laura Windsor has such a warm presence on the stage in all her characters and is wonderfully funny as the Titanic fan. Bronwen O’Malley is such a lovely full of heart yet feisty Bonnie on the side of the animals that nobody else is noticing, and the story of the chimps is funny one second, and making the whole audience “aah” with sadness the next. And of course there’s Bill Kirwan as the mayors of all the towns, changing through them with ease, each one full of character. The moment towards the end where we can all see him as the mayor of Gander struggling to contain his emotions is beautiful. Everyone on the stage has worked super hard including the four not yet mentioned: Becky Nash, Catherine Hawtin, Sandra Dry and Jasmin Bettine; is 100% committed with gorgeous character work: they all successfully pull out all the story strands, highlighting them, and with all the multi-rolling you’d think it might be confusing to follow, but it never is. That takes skill and commitment. 

The joy of a modern musical is the way it’s told with fluidity and actor skill in multi-rolling rather than huge sets, trusting the audience will use their imaginations to follow the story which of course we all do. It’s a further joy to see no stage hands, and the choice at the end to remove the back wall panels to reveal the orchestra who have been playing flawlessly throughout is genius, giving them the chance to almost riff and be applauded for their huge part in telling the story. The chairography is stunning: the fact that nobody bumps into anyone else is really quite amazing. And the movements in this whole show, almost constant, are truly beautiful. The shapes they make, the movement work in canon including the passenger reactions on the plane: create such beautiful and interesting shapes we could literally watch this breathtaking work for hours. 

This is a majestic production, brim full of heart, truth, and authenticity. They each give such life to telling the story, knowing they are part of a whole, and knowing it’s a true story of one of the worst moments in U.S. history which makes it all the more powerful. The actors treat this with such dignity and respect it’s really incredible to see it. The fact that Jennifer McLean, herself known for great character acting, has choreographed before but certainly never directed before, is jaw dropping: to have this production as your directorial debut and do it to such perfection is dumbfounding. Jack Tompkins co-directs with his directorial debut for the company, having previously assisted elsewhere. The obvious conclusion is that this super directing team should not stop here. They have created beauty, truth, heart and inspiration. Congratulations to every single person involved in this superb, flawlessly executed show.  

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