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BrumHour saw Come from Away at the invite of Birmingham HippodromeT.
This week on Brum Radio’s Interval Theatre Nicholas Pound talks about his role in Come From Away. Listen Below:
By Dave Massey x.com/BrumHour
This production contains strong language and includes scenes of discrimination.
Review: Come from Away at Birmingham Hippodrome
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Wonderful!
Directed by Christopher Ashley, book, music and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein
Told as a group narration with songs in an ensemble style production, Come from Away covers September 11th 2001 and the days that followed it. It is performed from the perspective of a small town called Gander in Newfoundland, a Canadian island. The airport used to be a refuelling point for flights across the Atlantic in the days before flights could make the trip without stopping.
The set mostly appears to be made from wood, with trees to the sides and a wooden back wall featuring hidden doors, then there are tables and plenty of chairs for the actors to switch the setting from a Tim Horton’s to a flight, to emergency spaces and even a hillside viewing platform.
The audience is introduced to many characters throughout including Captain Beverly Bass, American Airlines‘ first female pilot (played by Sara Poyzer), The Kevins (Mark Dugdale and Jamal Zulfiqar) plus Nick (Daniel Crowder) and Diane (Kirsty Hoiles) who met during their unplanned stay in Gander. Plus former mayor of Gander, Claude Elliot is played by Nicholas Pound.
This is a wonderfully uplifting musical that makes the audience feel like it is being told for the very first time, but there is a huge feeling of how well the actors know their characters, there is also a great on stage band who perform throughout the 100 minutes of this production. (There is no interval, so be warned.)
The audience reaction to the first night was massive and it was great to be able to see how loved and cherished this story is. Despite the awful situation that led to this community becoming a place of refuge for the thousands of people on these flights, this is a wonderful production.
Come from Away is at Birmingham Hippodrome until 1st June 2024. Discover what is coming up at Birmingham Hippodrome here: birminghamhippodrome.com/whats-on. See more tour dates here: comefromawaylondon.co.uk.
