Come From Away – emotionally charged performances that highlight the instinctive kindness of the Gander people (St Agnes’ Choral Society in Lyric Theatre until Saturday 13 September)

Come From Away is one of my favourite pieces of musical theatre. Centred around how a small island community copes with 7,000 airline passengers landing in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in New York and Virginia, its book, lyrics and music by Irene Sankoff and David Hein are a celebration of empathy and hospitality, as well as a reminder of the death toll and the legacy of distrust and increased racism in the aftermath. With a cast of twelve covering upwards of 40 roles, there’s a beautiful weaving together of the storyline threads, with moments of pathos sitting alongside brilliant scenes of comedy.

St Agnes’ Choral Society are staging the Irish amateur premiere of the award-winning musical in the Lyric Theatre. Taking on such a compact and complex show should be challenging. But right from the start, the cast show that they’re on top of the fast paced, one-act show. The dialogue bounces between actors – the words that complete one sentence can at times be uttered from the mouths of four different cast members – and director Rachel Logan-Fee has clearly drilled everyone until they’re word perfect. When it comes to the songs, the cast are vocally strong and it’s great to see the eight-strong live band jump on stage during some of the scenes.

I reviewed the third performance, the Saturday matinee, and the tears that began to roll down my cheeks during the first song were perhaps a sign of how competently the cast was embracing the emotional energy of the show. (They were certainly not the last tears!)

Unlike the UK tour of Come From Away that passed through the Grand Opera House in June last year, St Agnes have been able to retain the original production’s revolving stage which adds a real dynamism to selected scenes. Kudos to the engineering geniuses who fitted it above the Lyric’s main stage, and to choreographer Amy Blackshaw who will only have had a few days of rehearsal during the tech run to get the actors used to the rotating effects she wanted to achieve.

Fergal White presents the town mayor Claude as being calm and focussed, with an Irish twang that helps connect Newfoundland sensibilities with our “little place on a rock in the ocean” on this side of the Atlantic. While Claude sorts the public authorities, Beulah (played by Emma Nugent) organises accommodation in a school.

In her first day on the job, local TV reporter Janice (a vivid Helen Smyth) bounces up and helps us understand the vagaries of life in Gander. Martin McDowell adds easy humour as Oz and right across his multiple roles, as does Themba Mbondiya, playing tough New Yorker Bob who slowly learns to trust his new surroundings.

The romantic connection between Texas divorcee Diane (Antoinette McMichael) and the English globe-trotting engineer Nick (Tony Young) is touching, while the two Kevins (Gareth McGreevy and Vijay Sharma) demonstrate a relationship that is under stress. United Airlines pilot Beverley is played by Michelle Hannaway, whose powerful voice soars through Me and the Sky. The faith scene – blending Make Me A Channel Of Your Peace with Jewish and Islamic prayers – is particularly touching. The party in The Legion, complete with ‘uglystick’ percussion and ferocious on-stage fiddling by Naomi Hill, creates one of the stand out sequences of the show. Bláthnaid Carlin (playing the animal loving Bonnie) and Fiona Keegan (the mother of a New York firefighter) complete the cast.

There are a lot of nods to the original staging like the light trees in the wings. Aidan Payne’s wooden block backdrop was effective and the projected videos of news footage had been carefully edited to suggest rather than show what happened during the attacks. The tight spotlighting of seated cast members worked well, though at times the ensemble looked under-lit.

Over 110 minutes, the cast and creatives from St Agnes’ pull off a spectacular amateur production of Come From Away that totally captures the emotionally charged story, highlights the Newfoundlanders’ instinctive kindness towards ‘the plane people’, and masters the complex lyrics and music. The ensemble work well together as a team on a set that is never static (even when it’s not revolving!)

Well worth catching Come From Away in its final week at the Lyric Theatre where it plays until Saturday 13 September.

Photo credits: Nicola McKee Photography

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