Come From Away: Theatre Review

Come From Away is one of my all-time favourite musicals. It tells the story of 38 planes, which were forced to land in Newfoundland, Canada following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It’s such a heartwarming, moving show. Here’s my Come From Away theatre review.

Overview of Come From Away

Come From Away is based on a true story, and it’s one of my favourite musicals. My Come From Away theatre review is super positive – I just love this show!

Come From Away is based on the true story of the planes that had to land at Gander airport after 9/11. Following the terrorist attacks in the USA, the USA airspace was closed and planes were ordered to land instead of flying over the USA. 38 planes landed in Gander – a small town on the island of Newfoundland, in north-east Canada. There’s a big airport here from the days of the Cold War, but it’s only a small town. When 38 planes landed here, it almost doubled the number of people in Gander.

The show tells the heart-warming stories of how the people of Gander welcomed the plane people, and how the plane people living in Gander for several days. The people of Gander were so friendly and welcoming. And some of the plane people started enjoying their time there, meeting new people and having fun with the locals. It’s such a heart-warming story of how something beautiful could come out of something so terrible.

What I liked about Come From Away

I love this show. My favourite thing about it is how heart-warming it is. At first, you might think a show about 9/11 would be really sad. And of course there are some sad elements. But it’s also a really joyful shows, that really showcases the best side of humanity. Despite the awful events of 9/11, the people of Gander were so welcoming and friendly to the plane people. And also so caring towards the animals on the planes as well – the animals aren’t forgotten. And there are some lovely stories from the plane people as well, how they make new friends and embrace the new experiences they’re having, and become changed people as a result of their stay in Gander.

One of my favourite moments from the show is the song ‘Make Me A Channel Of Your Peace’. It’s a prayer, showing three different religions coming together. I found it so moving, to see people from across the world and from different religions uniting and praying together. It really summed up what I feel is the heart of this show – people from all across the world coming together and becoming one.

I also love the song ‘Me And The Sky’, which is sung by one of the pilots of the planes. It’s about how she became one of the first female pilots and captains, realising her dream of being a pilot. It’s a really empowering song, and I thought the performer was amazing.

There are so many other parts of this show I like. There are a lot of characters, but so many are memorable even if they don’t have huge amounts of stage time. There’s the two Kevins, a gay couple from LA. There’s Nick, an English businessman and the woman from Texas who fall in love. And also the woman who’s caring for the animals – including the pregnant chimpanzee.

What I wasn’t so sure about

There’s literally nothing I don’t like about this show! I feel like I could watch it 20 times and still enjoy it every single time. And I love listening to the songs at home as well – I just can’t get enough of this amazing show.

I guess the only thing I could think of to critique is that some people may not find it the easiest show to follow. There are 12 actors, who are on stage all the time for 100 minutes with no interval. And they’re often playing different characters – often just for a few lines of dialogue, and then they’re back to being a different character. I found the show fairly easy to follow – it’s well narrated and I thought the character changes were done really clearly and cleverly. But it’s the type of show you need to be focussing on to really appreciate. If you switch off, you’ll miss a lot of the subtle jokes and humour and some character developments. But I still wouldn’t change this – just make sure you’re focussing on the show!

Would I recommend Come From Away

I would 100% recommend going to see Come From Away. I think so many people with lots of different tastes in musicals will find something they love about this show. My Come From Away theatre review is super positive, so I’d definitely recommend going to see it.