Come From Away

Come from Away, the Broadway musical by Irene Sankoff and David Hein, is based on the events in the week following the 9/11 attacks on America, when 38 planes were ordered to land in the small Canadian town of Gander. This true story tells the tale of the town who kept 7,000 stranded visitors housed and fed following the biggest tragedy the US had seen.

The musical began previews in London at the Phoenix Theatre on 30th January 2019, and tickets for the West End premiere of Come From Away are on sale now.

Come From Away saw Sankoff and Hein modestly set out to write a musical they wanted high school kids to perform, rather than aspiring for a Broadway musical. The pair travelled to the Newfoundland town on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and learnt of the kindness of its residents. They felt like these stories had to be told and wrote a positive, upbeat musical to celebrate the residents.

The musical opened on Broadway, at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, in 2017 following runs in Seattle, Washington DC and Toronto. It was nominated for seven Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Book and Best Score of a Musical, and winning for Best Direction of a Musical and received critical acclaim, with the New York Times’ Ben Brantley calling it a ‘big bearhug of a musical’.

On the back of the success of the musical, Sankoff and Hein are writing a film adaptation of the show, set to be produced by Mark Gordon and directed by Christopher Ashley.

The show transferred to London’s Phoenix Theatre in early 2019, following a short run in Dublin at the end of 2018.

The London cast of Come From Away at the Phoenix Theatre features Rachel Tucker as, among other characters, airline pilot Beverley Bass. She is joined by David Shannon, Jenna Boyd, Nathanael Campbell, Clive Carter, Mary Doherty, Robert Hands, Helen Hobson, Jonathan Andrew Hume, Harry Morrison, Emma Salvo, and Cat Simmons.

Tickets for Come From Away in the West End are on sale now.