Come From Away

Toronto, Broadway, Dublin and the West End – Come From Away has seen the world before coming to Melbourne for its Australian premiere. Given the Canadian musical’s enduring international success, the premise might at first seem a little slight. 

In the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the US airspace is closed. This causes a number of planes to divert and land in Gander, a small town on the Canadian island of Newfoundland. The narrative focuses on the lives of the grounded passengers in the days that follow.

With 7,000 new arrivals, the town’s population practically doubles, but hospitality runs in the locals’ blood. Over the next few days, they take all necessary measures to provide comfort and solace for the “plane people” during this distressing time. 

Newfoundland is a curious place. It’s the most populous part of the province, Newfoundland And Labrador, which sits at Canada’s eastern Atlantic edge. It has strong English, Irish and Scottish roots and the local accent is more akin to Irish than standard Canadian. Come From Away depicts the locals as preservers of old-fashioned, small-town principles. The front door’s always open, the kettle’s always on and the BBQ is there to be borrowed without permission. 

Despite advocating for compassion and kindness, Come From Away is not a relaxing spectacle. The dialogue, scene changes and musical numbers come at you in a non-stop procession. The core cast – led by Richard Piper as Claude, the town mayor – all play at least three recurring characters. They’re all on stage throughout the musical’s entire, uninterrupted 100-minute run time, switching between dialects, nationalities and emotions with beguiling professionalism. 

There’s an even balance of spoken dialogue and singing, but the songs take a little while to warm to. The compositions are draped in Celtic attire – the band includes fiddle, mandolin and tin whistle – but still possess many hallmarks of musical theatre, ie over-earnest performances, zig-zagging melodies and occasionally naff lyricism. 

Over the course of five days in Gander, the plane people endure a whirlwind of emotions. They unexpectedly find a sense of belonging in this strange, remote place, while also being desperate for contact with loved ones back home. The starkest element of the narrative is the treatment of an Egyptian Muslim passenger. September 11 triggered an outbreak of Islamophobia and the dehumanising consequences are uncomfortably exposed here.

This underlines the work’s core moral. On the one hand you might think, ok, so some well-off people had their flights diverted for five days and received as much food, warmth and support as could be mustered. What’s the big deal? But the musical depicts a community of people almost entirely devoid of suspicion. They’re committed to helping the stranded strangers, irrespective of background and individual persuasion. 

Since September 11, however, our Western societies have become increasingly paranoid, from the top down. In its best moments, Come From Away shines an uplifting light on the unifying power of love and compassion.