Come From Away review following opening at Canberra Theatre Centre

They made us laugh, cry, reflect, remember, and want to move to Newfoundland.

As this remarkable musical-slash-time-capsule finished and the crowd rose to its feet on Thursday night, one audience member remarked: "Well, that was worth the wait". Indeed.

It took three years to get the show to Canberra, with two cancellations due to COVID.

Now they are here. And it is so special. There is so much humanity and life-affirmation in this work. And humour. Lots of humour.

Come From Away shares the real-life story of the almost 7000 air passengers from around the world who were grounded in Canada in the wake of 9/11, and Gander, the small Newfoundland community that inexplicably had an international airport, built in 1938 as a strategic location for refuelling.

When the American airspace closed after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Gander took on the passengers, these "come from aways". And that Irish lilt and sensibility of the Gander locals, reflecting the Irish migrations to Newfoundland, is one of the first things to notice in the show.

Award-winning husband and wife duo David Hein and Irene Sankoff say in the program that "come from aways" is a Newfoundland term for "a visitor from beyond the island". In 2011, on the 10^th anniversary, the couple spent a month in Gander and its surrounding communities, meeting with the locals and the returning pilots, crew and passengers to create Come From Away.

"Every character in the show was inspired by a friend we made out there," they wrote.

And these are people you want to know. Gander had fewer than 10,000 residents when almost 7000 people arrived suddenly on their doorstep. They rose to the occasion. And the production gives all the feels and reaffirms the power of community.

In the show, as the town rallies to support the arriving passengers, organising places to sleep, people to cook, access to phones (few people back then had a mobile, remember) there was a sense, for a moment, of returning to not 2001, but instead 2003 and the Canberra firestorm.

READ THE FULL STORY: Remarkable true story behind musical Come From Away

The cast carrying blankets and bedding and supplies at one point singing a song called, yes, Blankets and Bedding, sparked a memory of people bringing mattresses and quilts and anything else needed into the recovery centre in the Canberra suburbs after the firestorm 20 years ago.

"Do you know what they need?" the locals sing in Blankets and Bedding.

People can be great and Come From Away reminds us of that.

The lighting and choreography in the show is stunning, taking the audience from planes stuck on the tarmac for hours, to uncertain night-time bus rides, to locations around Gander where relationships between people from 92 different countries are sealed over just a few days. And other relationships are tested. The suspicions around Muslim passengers taking us straight back to those strained, strange times

Come From Away in Canberra is produced by Rodney Rigby and Junkyard Dog Productions, the cast all Australian except for Canadians Kyle Brown (Bob), Sarah Nairne (Hannah) and David Silvestri (Claude).

It is absolutely an ensemble effort. You might want to look for a favourite or a stand-out, but it is impossible. The 12 performers on stage, playing multiple characters, are all brilliant.

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And the music. The music. Come From Away has a live band which play a collection of Celtic instruments and it is wonderful. From the very start, with the driving, stirring, toe-tapping Welcome to the Rock, the music is absolutely captivating.

The Canberra season is being billed as Come From Away's "last ever Australian season". See it before it flies away. And Canberra travel agents? Get ready for bookings to Newfoundland.