Come From Away

An hour’s drive for us to get to Koorliny Arts Centre for a Saturday matinee, but this venue holds a special place in our hearts. We’ve performed here numerous times ourselves, and there’s something about Koorliny audiences — they’re generous with their emotions and they willingly give that energy straight back to the performers.

Walking into the theatre, we were greeted by blue lighting and beautifully simple, quaint staging. And immediately I remembered why I love smaller theatres.

The last time I saw Come From Away was at Crown Perth, and it was an exceptional production. But there is something so magical about seeing a show like this in an intimate theatre. You can actually see the cast’s faces. Every smile. Every tear. Every tiny reaction and every character transformation. There’s nowhere to hide. And this cast didn’t need to.

Come From Away, with book, music and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein, tells the extraordinary true story of thousands of passengers whose planes were diverted to Newfoundland following the September 11 attacks, and the communities who suddenly found themselves welcoming complete strangers into their homes, schools and lives.

But for me, this has never really been a musical about 9/11. It’s about what people chose to do next. And watching it in 2026, 25 years later, that message of humanity, kindness and simply looking after each other still hits hard.

There’s another layer to this particular production that deserves mentioning too. Koorliny first staged Come From Away in 2024 as the WA amateur premiere, and the production went on to win the Robert Finley Award for Best Musical Production, alongside recognition for its direction, musical direction and ensemble. Now, two years later, much of that company has returned to the Rock for this special encore season marking 25 years since September 11.

And I have to give Koorliny credit for the timing. Opening night was September 11th, 2026 — exactly 25 years after the events that changed the lives of the real people whose stories we’re watching on stage. That was such a clever and meaningful choice. Not because Come From Away dwells on the tragedy of that day — quite the opposite. It reminds us of the humanity that emerged from it. Twenty-five years later, bringing these stories back to the stage on that exact date feels like a beautiful way of honouring the people behind them.

And with so much of the original Koorliny company returning, you can feel that shared history between them. This doesn’t feel like 13 performers who have simply learnt their individual parts. It feels like a company that knows each other, trusts each other and knows exactly when to step forward and when to step back.

Perhaps that’s why the ensemble work is so bloody good.

Thirteen performers portray more than 80 characters, often switching between them right in front of us. An accent changes. A jacket goes on. A hat appears. A body shifts slightly — and suddenly the person you were watching seconds ago has disappeared.

Not a weak link amongst them.

Gillian Binks, Bailey Bridgman-Peters, Maree Cole, Lucy Eyre, Paul Hayward, Matilda Jenkins, Tadhg Lawrence, Mahali, Jason Nettle, Shannon Payette Seip, Rea Selepe, Phoebe Tempra and Neil Young work as an absolute unit.

And that, for me, is the strength of Come From Away. The ensemble IS the star.

I knew this show would make me emotional. What I had forgotten was how bloody funny it is! I laughed so hard. I smiled so much. And then, almost without warning, the show would turn and I’d find myself completely still.

That balance between humour and heartbreak is incredibly difficult to get right. The humour never makes light of what happened and the sadness never suffocates the joy. Instead, we see people doing what people do. They laugh. They cry. They fall in love. They make friends. They get scared. They help each other. They keep going.

One performer was clearly battling with her speaking voice during our matinee, and you could hear the strain when she spoke. But when she opened her mouth to sing? You genuinely couldn’t hear the struggle. Her vocals remained strong and controlled, and I actually thought that deserved recognition. That’s professionalism — pushing through whatever was happening without allowing it to take away from the performance.

Now… THE BAND!!

Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE live music in musicals. Give me real musicians in the room every single time.

Under Musical Director Kate McIntosh, the band is sensational. The Newfoundland/Celtic flavour of this score absolutely comes alive with live musicians, and they aren’t simply accompanying the cast. They are part of the heartbeat of the show.

There were moments when I genuinely didn’t know whether I wanted to watch what was happening on stage or concentrate on what the musicians were doing. Huge appreciation from this musician!

And the creatives deserve their flowers as well.

Katherine Freind and Allen Blachford direct this production, with Blachford also responsible for choreography, and what looks effortless from the audience is actually incredibly precise.

And those chairs!

A chair becomes a plane seat. Then we’re on a bus. Then suddenly we’re somewhere completely different. The cast barely stops moving, yet somehow we always know exactly where we are. That simplicity is one of the cleverest parts of the production. It allows our imaginations to do some of the work instead of trying to recreate every location literally.

Stephen Carr’s scenic design, with Sam Knox’s scenic painting, gives the performers the space to tell the story without overwhelming it. Katharina Brieden’s lighting design helps move us between places and moods, while Michael Rideout’s dialect coaching deserves a special mention when you consider just how many characters and accents these performers are navigating.

Chloe Palliser handles stage management, Screw Loose Society the set construction and Jonathan Hoey the sound design.

We did experience some sound issues during our matinee, which is ultimately what kept this from being a full five Theatre Masks for me. Nothing catastrophic. Nothing that took away from how much I loved the show. But enough that I noticed it.

And after the last couple of days of theatre for us, I’ve been thinking about something.

Community theatre has absolutely shone.

If this is the standard community theatre is producing, some of those big touring productions need to make sure they’re bringing their A-game.

There is an intimacy these theatres have that the larger venues simply can’t replicate. You see everything closer. You feel everything closer. If you love the spectacle of the big theatres, perfect — I do too. Just don’t count out the little guys.

And judging by today, Perth audiences certainly aren’t.

A sold-out Saturday matinee.

Then, as those final moments landed, the entire audience rose to its feet. We were right there with them. A full standing ovation — and it felt completely deserved.

There’s something particularly special about watching a community theatre filled to capacity and then seeing that whole room stand together for the people who have just given everything on that stage. That’s what live theatre is about.

And now I’m going to say something I genuinely wasn’t expecting to say when we made that hour-long drive to Koorliny…

This is my favourite version of Come From Away.

And I’ve seen an exceptional professional production at Crown.

Hats off to Koorliny Arts Centre, Katherine Freind, Allen Blachford, Kate McIntosh, the entire creative team, that brilliant live band and every single member of this ensemble.

Thank you for reminding me just how bloody good community theatre can be.

Community theatre didn’t feel “little” today. It felt enormous.

Oh — and completely unrelated to the theatrical excellence… Their little concession stand sells excellent lollies AND Cheezels. Important reviewing information, obviously. 😂

HERS: ★★★★½

4.5 THEATRE MASKS

A beautiful reminder that in humanity’s darkest moments, sometimes the most extraordinary thing people can do is simply look after each other.