Don’t miss this multi-award-winning musical at Newcastle Theatre Royal

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Come From Away, the musical that’s been a massive hit across the world is now making its way to Newcastle Theatre Royal.

This remarkable production has seen record-breaking, sold-out performances in the West End, on Broadway, in Canada, Australia and across a 60-city North American tour.

The multi-award-winning musical, Come From Away, celebrates the incredible true story of 7,000 air passengers who were grounded in Canada during 9/11 and the small Newfoundland community that welcomed them with open arms.

From Tuesday 6th to Saturday 17th August 2024, you’ll catch Come From Away at Newcastle Theatre Royal – the tour’s only dates in the North East.

AN EXTRAORDINARY CAST AND CREW

The cast features Natasha J Barnes as Janice & others, Daniel Crowder as Nick, Doug & others, Mark Dugdale as Kevin T, Garth & others, among many other talented performers. Directed by Tony Award-winner Christopher Ashley, Come From Away is a life-affirming production that leaves audiences on their feet night after night.

Experience the joyous story and soaring music as spirited locals and global passengers come together, forging friendships that last a lifetime. Witness real characters caught at the start of a moment that changed the course of history in a true celebration of hope, humanity and unity.

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THE HEARTWARMING TRUE STORY

When the airspace over North America was closed on 9/11, the town of Gander in Newfoundland suddenly found itself hosting more than 6,500 passengers and crew.

With all airborne planes forced to land at their nearest airport, 38 planes carrying 6,579 people and 19 animals touched down in Gander, almost doubling its population of 10,000. On the north eastern tip of a province nicknamed The Rock by locals, these “come from aways” (as the locals call people not born there) were welcomed with open arms.

The grounded passengers were fed, clothed, housed and entertained by the locals, and even participated in a ‘screech-in’ ceremony, where kissing a cod earned you the honorary Newfoundlander title.

Beverley Bass, the first female American Airlines captain, was deeply moved when she saw her story come to life on stage.

She said, “If you had told me when we left Gander on the morning of September 15th that someday I would be watching our stories play out across the world in a musical, I would have been in total disbelief.”

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FROM GANDER TO THE STAGE

This remarkable true story forms the basis for Come From Away, a musical by Irene Sankoff and David Hein that celebrates the human spirit and shows how people are at their best when faced with the worst. With laughter, tears and soaring music, the show is about hope and unity as the spirited locals and global passengers overcome reticence and cultural differences to forge common bonds and lifelong friendships.

THE MAKING OF A MUSICAL

Ontario-born Irene and Canadian David were in New York on 9/11, staying in a residence for international graduate students.

Those people took care of us, we had neighbours come over and help us,” David recalls. “We all shared music and got through it together. So, when we first heard this story years later, when a friend mentioned it, we looked into it and realised, ‘This actually feels like our experience.’”

On the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks, the writing partners and husband-and-wife duo travelled to Newfoundland to interview the townsfolk as well as the “come from aways” who had journeyed back there to mark the occasion.

They found the locals to be just as welcoming as they are portrayed in the show. The stories collected across hours of interviews are now distilled into the 100-minute musical.

Book your tickets online or from the Newcastle Theatre Royal Box Office on 0191 232 7010.

VISIT NEWCASTLE THEATRE ROYAL’S WEBSITE

Newcastle Theatre Royal, 100 Grey Street, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 6BR

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Rachael Ellis
Creative Solutions Manager

After gaining a first in her BA Media and Journalism degree at Northumbria University, Rachael worked at Newcastle’s leading regional newspaper with her stories being picked up in national and global newspapers She spent two very successful years giving a voice to those communities across the North East who otherwise…

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