Some time back a friend of mine excitedly told me that Come From Away was Showbiz Christchurch’s big show for 2025. I stared blankly. What? Never heard of it.

I doubt that I’m alone in that, but this award-winning musical will definitely now be on many people’s radar (aviation pun fully intended).

Showbiz always delivers a great show, and ones which highlight incredibly talented local performers. If tonight’s standing ovation and the comments I hear afterwards are anything to go by, Come From Away is set to be another well-earned and much-deserved success.

It centres on a moment when the world changed forever, and one which anyone 30 or above will probably vividly recall: a terrorist attack taking down the Twin Towers in New York, and other targets, using routine commercial passenger flights as weapons.

Come From Away doesn’t focus on that ‘main act’ – this is the ‘offstage’ story, one that most of us probably never even considered; I certainly didn’t. When US airspace suddenly closed, where did the many planes still in the air go?

Thirty-eight of them went to Gander in Newfoundland, taking almost 7,000 people, as well as some dogs, cats and bonobo chimpanzees. They were there for five days, powerless and confused and at a great distance from the people they loved, missed and worried about.

What unfolds is a story of community, kindness and sharing – people (mostly) at their best.

Telling this story is a main cast of 12 lead actors, supported by 12 standbys who will each be scheduled to perform twice during the show’s run. On the night I attend (the show’s second performance), the cast is: Libby Fraser (Beverley and others), Edwin Beats (Oz and others), Keaton Eisenmenger (Kevin T and others), Sophie Gilmore (Janice and others), Jane Godfrey (Diane and others), George Hiku (Bob and others), Matt Hudson (Nick and others), Sarah Kelly (Beulah and others), Chuana McKenzie (Bonnie and others), Michael Sharp (Claude and others), Patrick Ward (Kevin J and others) and Courtenay Washington (Hannah and others).

They play the Gander residents and also, with the addition of simple costume elements and use of the few set props (particularly the chairs which help ‘create’ planes and busses), they become various passengers from the diverted flights.

For the 12 actors onstage, it is a full-on ride which has little downtime. A lot is demanded of them in the one hour and 40 minutes they are on stage, and they all deliver 100%, singing, acting (there’s also a lot of accent work required here) and drawing deep emotion from themselves and their audience. This is a true ensemble piece. They each get, and give each other, their moments to shine. Reflecting the theme of community at the heart of this production, I won’t highlight any one cast member. They deliver this performance as a team.

Director Michael Lee Porter has created a smooth and powerful production here. His cast’s delivery is on point. The humour is funny, without veering into cheesy; the fear and sadness is relatable, without being overblown or melodramatic.

That’s important because there are a lot of emotions conveyed; one can quickly transition into another, all of which feels natural and real. There are some great comic moments that deliver real laughs (cardiologist cleaners, anyone?!). I find myself at moments with tears in my eyes and then laughing a minute later.

The simple set (Harold Moot) features a backdrop which is incredibly effective and well utilised. Trees to the side reminded us of the isolation and ruralness of Gander, and also act as lighting rigs. The backdrop, comprising panels of slats, initially seems to be solid, but the lighting proves them to be otherwise. This combination of set and lighting (Grant Robertson) quite transfixes me. The lighting is superb and does a wonderful job of transforming the stage in so many ways, evoking everything from changes of time and place (highlights are the airplane interior and the computer screens of air traffic control), to emotions and weather. There is minimal use of props, many being mimed, and simple costuming, which all act together to differentiate Ganderites to ‘come from aways’.

The band, under Richard Marrett’s direction, are on stage but tucked slightly into the backdrop – not fully hidden, not totally visible. And the often Gaelic-tinged music reflects their positioning – subtle accompaniment but never intrusive, too loud or overpowering. It is a treat to see some of the band members openly take the stage in the pub scene, and to hear (and see) them all in their finale.  

People are buzzing after the show and certainly my companion and I have both felt the range of emotions conveyed by the cast on stage. Maybe this resonates so strongly because, as Cantabrians, we have lived through several community-wide traumas in the last 15 years. Or maybe it is simply that for anyone who has experienced any kind of trauma or grief (which is likely to be many of us), and/or received the kindness of strangers (which, hopefully, is all of us), this story strikes a chord. None of these people choose this experience; they just want a return to ‘normal’, but that is gone now. They are changed. Some embrace the change as opportunity, some are profoundly challenged by it.

Showbiz have created a powerful production here and I recommend you go see it during the next two weeks, because Come From Away is a story that reminds us that giving is actually often the best gift that we, ourselves, can receive.

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