Come From Away took the world by storm upon its opening on Broadway on 12th March 2017. Since then it has toured the world and musical theatre super fans have streamed the hell out of the soundtrack (myself included) so when Captivate announced they were doing a production of it at the Edinburgh Fringe 2025 for its Fringe Premiere, I knew I had to get along and see it.
With its soaring music, the joyous story tells of the spirited locals of Gander and the global passengers who unexpectedly came together to forge friendships that will stay with them forever in the wake of tragedy of September 11th 2001: kindness, humanity and community.
The show contains a mainly ensemble cast, all of whom deliver incredible vocals and all put on excellent accents that are at the very least on par to the professional tour production I have seen, as I’ve never had the pleasure to meet anyone from Gander. Each performer plays multiple different characters throughout the non-stop 90 minutes, an impressive feat as there is a lot of characters to follow and many of them are very different from one another; requiring varying accents, attitudes and physicality from each actor, sometimes changing from one to the other in the blink of an eye. The performers keep the pace up the whole runtime, never stopping to take a breath and the energy was excellent from all. This break-neck pace is present throughout and is what keeps the audience fully engaged, making the 1.5 hours feel like 20 minutes.
This energy is maintained by the performers but also through Sally Lyall’s direction. The space is limited and whatever space there is, is used effectively. The band being off to the stage right side while also having the occasional on-stage musician really envelopes the audience and makes them feel as if they are in a bar in gander, in the same predicament as the characters.
Fraser Hume’s musical direction is also to be admired here. The music blends beautifully with the impressive vocals on stage. The band are close to the audience but never too loud or overbearing. Each band member does really well to keep the constant tempo and practically never stop playing for the full hour and a half.
One stand out moment of the original show is a rare solo song; Me and the Sky. Tackling this mammoth song of emotional heights is Flick Hannah. Hannah’s vocal performance here is immense; a masterclass in acting through song as well as impressive control and tone. Scott Coltman plays a multitude of characters, all of which delightful to watch. Scott Binnie plays a handful of characters, cool and calm, or heated and energetic. Hannah Buyers plays a collection of very funny and charming characters that are always welcome back on stage.
The Bijou at Assembly Rooms, the venue Captivate decided to utilise to put on their production of this incredible musical, is an intriguing one. It’s smaller than expected but beautiful and intimate. The only slight negative is that there are many, necessary, pillars holding up the tent that do limit the view slightly, something you don’t want when the actors are giving the quality of performances they are on stage. There were some slight sound mixing issues at the very start and mics not being turned up when they should’ve been but these smoothed out as the show went on.
Overall, this production of Come From Away is absolutely beautiful. The delicate story and subject matter is given the consideration it needs while the casting of each character is perfect. Each cast member knows their jobs and the harmonies on display are sumptuous. This show is a real indulgence for Fringe audiences and musical theatre fans to delight in before it’s too late. Don’t miss out.
Theatre Scotland 
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