GEOFF BOTTOMS relishes a profoundly human portrait of a family as it evolves across 55 years in Sheffield
Musical Review: Come from Away
An emotive musical set in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attack veers away from answering some uncomfortable questions
Feel-good factor: Another side to 9/11
[Matthew Murphy]
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Come from Away
Phoenix Theatre
WHILE the world’s eyes were focused on the atrocious 9/11 events in New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia, elsewhere there were many fascinating stories of communities pulling together.
One of them is what happened in Gander, Newfoundland, where 38 planes were forced to make emergency landings after the US closed its airspace following the attack, and it’s the subject of Canadian playwrights Irene Sankoff and David Hein’s Come from Away.
Focusing on the hope that so often springs from tragedy — classic musical fodder — the husband-and-wife team provide a heartfelt portrayal of how 7,000 passengers, more than half of the town’s population, were fed, clothed and looked after by locals.
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