REVIEW: Come From Away at Mayflower Theatre

Would you kiss the fish? Coming straight from the West End, the multi award winning ‘Come From Away’ has landed right on the edge of this island in Southampton’s Mayflower Theatre for the week. This musical has won four Olivier Awards including Best New Musical (in London), and the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (on Broadway) – and my only question is, HOW HAS IT NOT WON MORE?! I never got around to watching this show when it was in London, and now I’m kicking myself because this is just the most beautiful, wholesome, heartfelt story. Literally the perfect musical (big claim I know!). For a new musical to rise straight to the top and bump shoulders with some of the more veteran musicals, there needed to be something new evolving the way that theatre is performed. I think ‘Come From Away’ has found this evolution.

This musical is perfect.

If you’re unaware of the plot of this musical, it shares the incredible story of the 7,000 passengers of 38 planes who were grounded in Canada during the wake of 9/11. The small Newfoundland community invited these ‘come from aways’ into their lives and this is the true story of what happened. Being from an era that doesn’t remember 9/11, all we ever got told about it was the event itself. Stories like this are true beacons of real hope in this world, and having not really known about it prior to this musical, I think it just shows the power of theatre doesn’t it? Writers Irene Sankoff and David Hein have brought this beautiful story to life through an inspiring original songbook with tonnes of comedy. Director Christopher Ashley is well deserved of that Tony Award because the movement in this musical is immaculate and it elevates this performance both physically and emotionally. 

This touring cast is magical! There are 12 people in this cast, but from the numbers I mentioned above you’re probably thinking how do 12 people portray a story of nearly 20,000 people? Well, each member of this cast plays multiple different characters all in the same space. This is done via a change in accent, hat, coat – and it is just seamless. When I looked in the programme before the show, I was nervous when reading that all of the cast play multiple characters. This is usually incredibly different to differentiate between characters and it can get extremely confusing. However that is just not the case here. The award winning direction has been shown perfectly by this cast and I almost have no notes except wow! It goes without saying that the layered singing and poetic speech was gorgeous, almost so gorgeous that I don’t think that I can single out any individual cast member. Everybody brought the perfect amount of energy and comedic timing, and you can just feel the bonds that these actors share on stage. It feels like you’re literally just watching a group of friends doing what they love. 

The set was very simple. In a show about planes, you would expect to see one right? Well you don’t, but you also don’t need to. The set is exactly as you see it, a few chairs and a couple of desks that get rearranged to show different places/show different scenes. Again, this all ties in to how brilliant the direction of the show is. The lighting was also extremely effective. There were some spotlights on the trees and the coloured backdrop also helped in changing the setting. The use of spotlights to signify who was telling the audience the story was also brilliant. You knew exactly what was going on from narration to speech! Simplistic, but so so good! 

Go and see this show. Just go!

The score and original songbook are also so uplifting. The band are situated on stage, hidden within the trees and they are superb! From the moment the musical starts, to the moment it ends you will be nodding along with them. I literally caught myself tapping my feet within the opening number. The lyrics are perfectly crafted and you best believe that the soundtrack is going to be on repeat for the rest of the week (at least). There’s a couple of moments where the band come on stage playing their instruments. They become a part of the story, their own characters if you will, and the way they interact with each other and the other actors just makes you feel good. It’s indescribable but the music just makes you feel warm. It may be down to the fact that they aren’t using the average ‘musical theatre’ instruments – but I love this! 

This musical is perfect. For such a tough subject, you leave feeling so inspired and warm. This is usually the section of my review where I give a split of the acts, but this show is all one act. It’s 100 minutes of pure entertainment, that feels like only 60. Everything about this musical from the story, to the acting, to the music, and the overall production value is flawless. It’s quoted that this show gets audiences up on their feet night after night, and that was proven tonight. In fact I have never seen such a fast and full standing ovation I think ever. This is one of those shows that you feel like you have so much to talk about, that you’re instead rendered speechless (it makes sense in my head). I think all that’s left to say is go and see this show. Just go! I’m already trying to plan when I can go back now. ‘Come From Away’ is in Southampton until Saturday before carrying on with its UK tour. This is a MUST see! I wish everybody involved in this show the greatest success going forward. I can see the awards coming for this tour already!