Come From Away - Phoenix / U.K & Ireland Tour 2024

I could be wrong but it looked like Bree Smith was on for the evening performance? I didn’t see any signs up anywhere though!

I have been to see the tour at Curve twice this week (once for the evening performance last Saturday, 2nd March, and once for today’s matinee performance ). When I saw this in London, I felt it was the best thing I had ever seen. I went in knowing absolutely nothing and it completely knocked me sideways. Now I know the show very well, but it loses absolutely none of its impact on a second or even third viewing in its tour incarnation. It is quite simply STUNNING! I still laughed, cried (a lot) and laughed again. Therefore, I felt it appropriate to repost my review from London, as it all still applies:

I am just out of today’s matinee, and all I have to say is WOW! Just WOW!!

A stunning, towering achievement of musical theatre, so beautifully crafted. Joyous, uplifting, moving. The script, the songs...just everything blew me away and has made me truly lost for words. It makes you cry (ugly tears!), then laugh the next moment (and there are some real belly laughs in this) and does so in a way that is never jarring. Plus, all of this is done with just some tables and chairs, and some clever lighting, proving you do not need fancy sets, just a great piece to really engage.

The company deliver the material with aplomb, and it really comes across that they feel blessed to be in the show. It feels like a cast of more than it is, as they morph so completely into the different characters that they play, that it is almost like a different actor for each role.

A show about humanity, about creating something positive in the darkest of times. The people in this story shared this moment in time together, and I think that is what the matinee audience felt today. I urge all of you to go. I will certainly be recommending to friends, and if I can, going for another visit.

To end where I started...WOW! I am an islander! Now I need to go and cry alone somewhere for a moment.

5 stars.

Having rated CFA as a 5 star show on my 2 trips to the Phoenix theatre to watch this great show, based on my viewing at the Liverpool Empire tonight, I would still rate this tour as a 5 star production and urge people to go and watch it if comes to a venue near you later on. Having held off booking to see if dynamic pricing would kick in, thankfully I managed to nab a front row stalls seat for £25 and it was worth every penny. 

For me, the stories of the different characters around those terrifying days of 9/11 still hit hard after repeat viewings and the message of community / being and working together are still important ones even today and it is easy to see why this show was a beacon of light when the WE started to reopen and was for many their first show back at the end of COVID. 

The set certainly filled the large Empire stage nicely and the lack of the WE revolve really wasn't missed here with the cast moving the simple but really effective set around to create the different settings. I would agree with a previous post which noted the effectiveness of the simplicity of the set design. No fancy tech or video just a few tables and chairs along with a few extra bits makes an effective set to tell stories. One thing I hadn't really appreciated in CFA until tonight's viewing was the wonderful lighting design from Howell Binkley.

I have no doubt that the quality of this entire tour cast is on a par with previous WE casts that give you a show that will make you both cry and laugh in equal measure. The cast are backed by a fantastic 9 piece band to bring that wonderful score to life for the 90 minutes. CFA really does put a smile on your face as you leave the theatre. It was also nice to see the continuation of offering the pin badges on our way out tonight.

Does anyone have a merch list for the tour?

Has anyone watched the pro shot on apple tv?

After seeing the show I watched it and tbh I didn't think it was as strong on film, some of the humour didn't land and more surprising the cast wasn't as good as the UK tour, especially the gay couple. Mark Dugdale and Jamal Zulfiqar really are excellent and have good chemistry.

I watched it when it was first released on Apple and quite enjoyed it. I am still tempted to book tickets for the tour next month though.

I’d considered bobbing over to Oxford this afternoon to see this but its practically sold out, and whats left were all about £70 for not great views. Really pleased its doing so well. Guess I’ll just have to wait for Bristol in August.

Sorry to be dumb, but what is a "pro shot"?

It’s in Chichester in November - booking not open yet

Yeah, sadly I can't make those dates but I'm glad it's getting more dates

If it's doing as well as it is, I can see it just starting another loop in a years time tbh