Come From Away | Theatre Review 💛💙

I really want to hold onto how I feel after this show and I hope this blog post help maintains that.

Come From Away is the most important show you can see in the West End at the moment. A show based around the events of 9/11 could so easily be emotionally challenging or some kind of trauma porn. 9/11 changed the world we live in, the after effects are still being felt 18 years later, no doubt for decades after that. Whilst the worst of humanity was being demonstrated in New York and Washington. The best example of humanity was being demonstrated in Gander, Newfoundland.

The immediate response following the attack was to close US air space, to stop any further attacks. Planes were told to go back to where they came from or to land in Canada. One of the airports planes landed at was Gander international airport. 38 planes landed that day, the population of the town almost doubling. Come From Away, tells the true story of how the Islanders welcomed with open arms the people stranded in a strange place, in a time of immense uncertainty, a long way from home. The effect on people and the compassion they showed means they are the only place outside the states to have steel from the World Trade centre.

On the 10th anniversary of 9/11 many of the Come From Aways returned to Gander to celebrate those people who had opened their arms and looked after them. The writers of this show went up to Gander on this anniversary. Irene Sankoff and David Hein interviewed people for hours and began to gather stories not knowing quite what they would get. The journey this show has been on is spectacular. After first being produced at Sheridan College, Ontario in 2013. From 2015 It was then produced at various theatres across America breaking box office records, then it went to Canada. Finally before opening on Broadway it played in Gander, in the Ice Hockey stadium.

Come From Away is such an ensemble piece and really is not about "star"names. The show opens with Welcome to The Rock the energy and urgency as well as the sense of community hits as soon as the drum beat starts drawing the audience in. Potentially the stand out moment of the show which shows Sankoff and Hein's mastery is Prayer, another ensemble piece. The passengers from the landed planes come from all walks of life, cultures and countries. About half way through the show passengers of different religions head to the church, to pray in the wake of tragedy. You not only see people of different religions co-exist peacefully, the languages spoken Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi and English and the traditional music build and weave together into this beautiful moment. It is a great example of how Sankoff and Hein use music to throughout the show. 

Other highlights: 28 Hours/Wherever We Are,  The Screech In and Me and The Sky. Also Bonnie Harris' compassion for animals and the 'Titanic Lady'.

I am so mesmerised by this production and the world building done with seemingly little, yet when you look closely it is built into every little detail from the underscore to slight costume changes. At the same time CFA expects a lot from the audience to fill in gap, but doesn't need a fancy set or effects. Come From Away holds it own both the story and the storytellers.

This show is about community, kindness and team work, without being asked, it coming naturally. This is demonstrated by the cast on stage, as every action they take on stage is intrinsically affected by everyone else on stage at that moment. If someone doesn't have a correct prop at that moment, it won't get passed to the next person, or the next, for when it is finally needed by the character who uses it. It's like watching a intricate puzzle being solved over and over again.

The more I look into this musical and the backstory of how it came to be, the more I simply adore it. I have watched so many interviews with the creatives, Broadway cast and the REAL people. I am particularly enamoured with Captain Beverly Bass, such as glass ceiling breaking powerful woman. The first female captain of American Airlines, one of the first people to deliver Boeing 777's to the US. Her life story has been captured in the feminist anthem 'Me and the Sky' and will certainly inspire hundreds and hundreds of young women and girls. It's another slice of history this production has captured and portrayed.

I hadn't really processed the 9/11 terror attacks, I mean it was 3 days before my 6th birthday, that would've been a lot to process. Yet it has arguably even affected my life in Norwich, England. I went back and I watched the footage, and I really had not grasped how huge and horrific it was. Which is incredibly naive. In one the news clips I watched there was a girl who was the same age as me and she saw the whole event happen from the window of the building she was in. I think I needed to process the attacks, for me to understand better the times that we live in.

We’re also doing a show about kindness. A true story about kindness. They want it! I can feel they’re leaning forward. That’s not what’s happening in the world right now. Nobody is talking about kindness or making a show about kindness—and it’s the fact that it’s true. Jenn Colella, Original Broadway cast

Ultimately this show. will make you want to go and tell your friends and family how much they mean to you. To go out into the world and do something positive that makes a difference, no matter how big. Life is so temporary and fleeting you don't know when it will be snatched away.

Company 2018-2019 | Theatre Review

Whenever I think about this production of Company a smile on my face suddenly makes it presence known to me, which is nothing in comparison to the grin which appears on my face when I am telling someone about it.

I've always enjoyed the premise (nothing gets me like an interesting structure/narrative) and Sondheim's score of Company. This production is so special, iconic even as it captivates the mood of the nation at this moment in history. Many of us are yearning for more settled times what with Brexit, Trump, House Prices, the NHS in trouble our lives are seemingly on a knife edge - yet once an aspect of life becomes settled it puts us on a knife edge.

Company opens at the surprise 35th birthday party of our Central character Bobbie. Throughout the show Bobbie is trying to reconcile why she wants to get married, if she wants to get married and how that would look for her; by examining the relationship of her close coupled friends.

Originally the character Bobbie, was Bobby (Robert). In this 2018/2019 gender switched production the above takes on a new poignance particularly for the female audience, and the non straight cis male audience for that matter. There are enough stories about the straight white male at this point in time. The fact Bobbie is female amplifies the societal pressure around being 35 and single. Her friends feeling equals levels of concern and jealousy of Bobbie's relationship status. The overall context is what takes this production of Company to a new level.

Other aspects of this production are female-led Marianne Elliot renowned theater director previously has directed Angels in America, War Horse and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime perhaps her most notable productions. This is still not the norm for productions which is frustrating! From reading about her the process with actors is collaborative, the product of this giving the actors real ownership over the role. In the rehearsal process actors played scenes in their own accent with their own names, to help them get close to the character. Which I thought was so ingenious. Elliot had been looking to direct Company, but it wasn't until she formed her production company Elliot and Harper productions, looking for good parts for women, when it was suggested turning Bobby into Bobbie. As I have said this is what has turned Company into something else.

Sometimes when you're watching a production if you find your eyes wandering around the set, instead of looking at the action on stage - you've got a problem. The set in Company doesn't necessarily place the show in a particular era or place. The set is almost like a tetris game or a puzzle, and Bobbie is working out how it all makes sense and goes together. The different sections, to me represent the compartments of thoughts, or how Bobbie compartmentalises different aspects of her life. Whilst also being different peoples apartments/homes, a subway train and a club. Which creates the feeling of a busy bustling metropolitan city. It works so ingeniously on so many different levels.

I don't want to single out any particular cast member, not even you Patti Lu Pone, which goes to show what an ensemble piece Company is, though centring around Bobbie. The harmonies, as expected with any Sondheim, production are tight, not only because Sondheim is partial to those close notes, but this cast does really become one on multilayered notes. The movement sections are equally as insync and detailed. Movement pieces that come to mind are Another Hundred People and Side by Side.

I do have a few highlights of this show, You Could Drive A Person Crazy, the barber shop take on the song is as close to a theatre orgasm I am going to get. The second is the outstanding performances to all those involved in Getting Married Today. Just pure genius. Finally Being Alive, such a huge sing and the perfect round up of the show.

Company is a production is challenging as an audience member in terms of structure, and that it makes you look so closely at your own life. It is also incredibly funny, there are moments where you will want to be extremely unBritish and stand a woop mid-production. I've seen many many productions, and I doubt that this one will move from the forefront of my mind. It's one of those musicals where you think you know it, but you can see it again and again, listen to again and again; each time will you find new quirks and little snippets. That's the sign of a job well done.

Finally you can listen to the cast recording on Spotify here