Humanity hopes that a positive will come out of a negative. And what better than the sun which shone following the horrors of 9/11.
The world changing event which saw people killed when planes were deliberately flown into New York’s Twin Towers was totally shocking.
But out of it came some wonderful stories and none more so than the kindness shown by the people of a small town, Gander in Newfoundland on the north-east edge of Canada.
Known as the “crossroads of the world” due to its perfectly positioned airport, Gander became the place where planes were re directed when American airspace was closed to deal with the aftermath of 9/11.
Literally thousands of people found themselves in the small town, where the locals opened up their hearts and homes to help others.
Come From Away is a West End musical dedicated to telling the tale of kindness, with dazzling costumes, scenery and some great singing thrown in too.
First staged in 2015, it’s now on its UK tour and stopped off at The King’s Theatre in Glasgow. The main cast all play multiple characters and its non-stop all the way.
Written by Irene Sankoff and David Hein after visiting Gander on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, the musical captures how locals and passengers coped.
Natasha J Barnes plays Janice (and standby Angeline Bell), a television reporter who finds herself right in the heart of a live news story, mixing with passengers, the town Mayor and local residents keen to help.
She teams up with British oil engineer Nick (Daniel Crowder) and Beverley Bass (Sara Poyzer and standby Ashleigh Harvey), the first female captain for American Airlines, with the full company made up of Mark Dugdale, Rosie Glossop, Amanda Henderson, Kirsty Hoiles, Oliver Jacobson, Dale Mathurin, Nicholas Pound, Bree Smith, Jamal Zulfiqar, Alyn Hawke, Daniel Cane, Kathryn Pemberton and Kevin Yates.
With musical numbers including the powerful “Welcome to the Rock” and “Something’s Missing”, the performance is full of life and the band led by Andrew Corcoran and Phil Cornwall has the audience bouncing in this real feel good show.
Come from Away runs at Glasgow’s Kings Theatre until Saturday 28th September and then moves to Nottingham’s Theatre Royal from 1st to 5th October 2024 before moving around England and finishing up at The Lowry in Manchester from 3rd December 2024 to 5th January 2025. For ticket availability, please visit: www.atgtickets.com.
Author Bio:
Rebecca Hay is an experienced travel writer and member of The British Guild of Travel Writers. Follow her adventures with her family
Photographs by Craig Sugden
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