Review: Come From Away, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton

AFTER visiting the deeply moving 9/11 Museum in New York just two months ago I was equally fascinated and anxious to see the award-winning musical Come From Away, on stage at Southampton Mayflower Theatre.

The recipient of four Olivier Awards, including Best New Musical in London and the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical on Broadway, the show is inspired by the amazing real-life story of thousands of stranded 9/11 air passengers and the small Newfoundland town took them in.

Although more than two decades have passed, the horror of the terror attacks that changed the world remains as real today as it was then, and this incredibly moving show is a powerful reminder of the goodness of humanity.

Told with energy, compassion and humour, Come From Away is set in the small community of Gander, a town which welcomed nearly 7,000 passengers from across the globe as planes were grounded at its airport. Once a bustling hub for transatlantic flights to refuel, the huge airport space became a waiting room for 38 planes as all flights were grounded in the immediate aftermath of the atrocity.

With news of the unexpected arrivals, the community swung into action gathering clothes, setting up canteens, emptying supermarkets of provisions and creating sleeping spaces for the stranded and often terrified passengers.

The 12-strong ensemble cast play numerous roles from the town’s people of Gander to the many characters that emerge from the stranded planes, often only changing a hat or a jacket to differentiate between roles. Remaining on stage continuously, the incredible quick changes and transformations were executed ingeniously, enabling the individual characters’ stories to develop and shine through.

Each and every cast member played two or more parts, not only switching between accents, mannerisms and characterisations faultlessly, but also delivering some incredibly choreographed dance routines and musical hits. Based on the true stories of the passengers and the community that welcomed them, the characters include the mother of a missing New York firefighter desperate for news, a young journalist reporting the biggest story of the time, the town’s quick thinking and resourceful mayor, and the animal lover who made it her mission to care for the planes on board menagerie.

The set itself was ingeniously designed as a simple backdrop which cleverly concealed the magnificent on-stage orchestra of seven who appear in the final moments of the show to rapturous applause.

Chairs were integral props, being continuously moved around by the cast to represent the school hall, a local pub, the packed school bus that transported the passengers, and the aisles of the aeroplane. Transformations were rapid and seamless, fitting perfect with the high-energy show.

Despite the overwhelming positivity, the musical also touched on the tough moments – the Arabic chef who many of the stranded travellers feared, passengers brawling over the use of telephones and the initial difficulties created by language barriers and cultural and religious divides.

But ultimately Come From Away is a story about the kindness of humanity and the ability of normal people to set their differences aside and work together for a common good, ultimately forming lifelong friendships in the most terrible of circumstances.

Come From Away is at Southampton Mayflower Theatre until Saturday, 20th April. Tickets from £29.50. For more information and bookings visit http://mayflower.org.uk or call the box office on 023 8071 1811.