We all know about the tragic details of 9/11. Many of us can remember exactly where we were when the news broke about the horrific incidents happening in America on that awful, awful day. I was at work in a call centre and everything just stopped still. The phones stopped ringing whilst everyone and everything seemed to just hold its breath.

What isn’t as well known a story is the story that came about because of those awful events. The story of how an island opened its doors, its arms and its hearts to literally thousands of scared and angry people and said “Welcome to the Rock!”.

Come From Away doesn’t tell the story of 9/11 it tells the story of 9/12 and the days following that and it tells it just beautifully. It tells it in a way that has you laughing one minute, crying the next and exploding with goosebumps the next. It stirs up so many memories but adds to them with warmth, love and acceptance and Irene Sankoff and David Hein’s story telling and musicality tells the story of Gander and Newfoundland with such care that you can’t help but fall in love with it.

The way that Sankoff and Hein brought that ‘holding our breath’ to our minds was simply genius – “I was in the library, in my car”…..we all have that story – I was at work in a call centre – and from then on I was captured by the set, the music, the stories, the lives changed forever. I was invested in this little known story (well in my corner of the UK).

The very talented cast of twelve multitask beautifully as they switch from character to character adding a hat here, a jacket there or a change of their accents and the brilliance in which they they do it leaves you in no doubt which character is currently being portrayed. In my opinion there are no stars to this show – all twelve actors are as important and as amazing as each other although Sara Poyzer’s rendition of Me And The Sky does deserve a special mention  as does Bree Smith’s heartbreaking performance of I Am Here – a mother hundreds of miles away from her New York home and from her firefighter son who was missing. I hoped so much that he would be found okay even though I knew it was a futile hope.

The staging of this one act show fits perfectly with the story telling aspect of the show and changes as rapidly as the cast change their characters but in such a smooth way that it isn’t distracting – almost dance like with its transitions with music that has you wanting so much more – wanting the party to continue even though the events are not something to party about. We could ‘see’ the moose in the road and feel the fear in the souls of the plane people

The warmth of the inhabitants of Gander and the surrounding towns that was shown to those plane people is prevalent throughout the show and it envelops us, wraps us up and gives us all a much needed musical hug to tell us that, despite the catastrophic events of 9/11 the world can be united, can come together and we can be there for others in our darkest of times.

Come From Away has very quickly stormed its way into my top 5 musicals of all time and I haven’t stopped listening to the original Broadway soundtrack every time I have been out in my car since my very first visit to the rock!

This is definitely one I would give six stars to if I could. I have used words like brilliant and genius because that is how I genuinely felt about this beautiful piece of theatre – the reaction to which I have never seen in a show before – people cheering as soon as the mayor of Gander appears onstage to open the show and an entire audience on its feet within seconds of the final ‘welcome to the rock’. My arms and hand were literally hurting from the applause I was giving as I joined in with everyone else dancing along to Screech Out played by the wonderful band and I am wanting more. Definitely one to revisit next time it is in my area.