REVIEW: Come From Away at Newcastle Theatre Royal

Come From Away

Newcastle Theatre Royal

Until Saturday 17 August 2024

A show has landed in Newcastle this week that has such a relenting pace that it runs for 100 minutes without an interval. In doing so it maintains a powerful intensity that keeps the audience engaged right up to the point that they spring up on their feet to give a spontaneous organic, and very well deserved, standing ovation. 

I had heard the rumours that this was a "Must Watch" even though the plot line seemed unusual for a passionate musical about the very best of people in the worst of situations. I now totally get it. Like the tour-de-force that was Our Ladies -  the storyline delves into the human condition, discusses relatable characters but it doesn't take its foot off the accelerator. The 12 strong cast and a 9 piece band, under the skilful assistant musical director Phil Cornwell, create the twists and turns - whilst remembering to show the funny side of life.

The programme, which I read afterwards, details the true stories that writers Irene Sankoff and David Hein have incorporated into this vibrant tale. That element of "non-fiction can be stranger than fiction" is borne out here.

So what is it about? If you cross the Atlantic Ocean on a plane, chances are that the first bit of land you'll see is Newfoundland. Gander has a large airport because in the old days, before jet planes, they used to land here to refuel before completing their journey to the US or Canada. Today, if cabin crew hear that they are making a stop at Gander then they know that there is a serious issue.

Anyhow, on the morning of the 9th September 2001 (aka 9/11) they had to land 38 planes containing over 6,500 people and a menagerie of 19 animals - including a pair of bonobos - a male and a pregnant female. Not knowing when the US airspace would reopen, the passengers were kept on the planes for up to 28 hours (as the occupants were considered a potential threat)  before the neighbouring towns were able to accept the huge influx of people. They needed somewhere to eat, sleep - and make phone calls (one plane rang up a bill of $13K telling their folks that they were safe). 

The musical covers both the stories of the islanders who welcomed the people and those on the planes. The cast play multiple roles, though it is obvious by the arrangement of the chairs etc whether it is the plane crowd or the townsfolk. At no point did I have an issue following the story.

The show works for a number of reasons: characters, situation, comedy and the careful use of music.  

Character-wise, from the island we have Nicholas Pound as the local mayor Claude who is struggling with a bus strike and Natasha J Barnes as Janice who is a local reporter on her first week as a journalist. Bonnie (Rosie Glossop) who works at a local animal shelter and teacher Beulah (Amanda Henderson) have no idea have the next few ideas will change them as the morning starts.

On the planes we meet a pilot Beverley (Sara Poyzer), who in 1986 was the first female captain on American Airlines, and the mother of a New York Fireman Hannah (Bree Smith) who will soon be seeking news of loved ones. There is the couple who are also business partners Kevin J (Kevin Yates) and Kevin T (Mark Dugdale) who, along with others, have no idea how the community will accept them. Indeed we get the initial fears of those who are used to a much higher crime rate struggling to cope with the outpouring of support from the local community.

There is also a love story as a pair of passengers find plenty in common as they are stuck together - what else do you do when you're stuck on a plane for a day. The tale of American Dianne (Kirsty Hoiles) and English Nick (Daniel Crowder) is a nice sub-plot through the show.

Each character is usually developed enough for you to care and have empathy in their situation and this is important for the whole emotion thing to work. The script is really good as it manages to both acknowledge the darker side of the day whilst peppering the action with lots of light hearted moments. It is rare to witness a theatre crowd laugh as frequently in a musical.   

The song serve that modern classic function of either setting up a situation or for the characters to express themselves. None of them are filler and the do help with the story. The folky delivery of much of the music and having the musicians on the fringes so they can join in when appropriate also helps with the energy of the show. 

Director Christopher Ashley has managed to make the many stories flow in a show that has no down time for set changes. The result is a joyous celebration - a triumph of human compassion in one of the darkest moments of modern history.

A minor concern, though, are that some of the characters that are on the fringes of the story, or the reactions to those characters, can come across as stereotypes as their brief time on stage gives limited context or opportunity to go past the expected reactions. The difficultly with the setting (9/11) is that there was a lot of suspicion as a result of the attacks and hindsight can ignore that we didn't know what was going on initially.

I guess regular readers will have picked up that I really loved the show. I did,  it was one of the best shows I have seen since lockdown. Seriously, given our national news recently - I needed this show to cheer me up and it succeeded. I loved the energy and the passion. A great cast deserved that standing ovation in this five star show.

Review: Stephen Oliver

Photos: Craig Sugden  

Tickets:

Come From Away plays at Newcastle Theatre Royal from Tuesday 6 – Saturday 17 Aug 2024. Tickets can be purchased at www.theatreroyal.co.uk or from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 0191 232 7010.