"Come From Away" by Zak Scott Productions.

Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

"Come From Away" shares the real-life story of the 7,000 air passengers from all over the world who were grounded in Canada during the wake of 9/11, and the small Newfoundland town of Gander community that invited these "come from aways" into their lives with open hearts.

The comedy is gentle and in abundance, balancing well with the obvious confusion and terror from the passengers who had no idea what was happening and the reason for their flights' diversions. There's emergency panic from the townsfolk who had no idea as to how many people to expect and where they were going to put them up, or how to feed them.

The feeling of comradery though becomes infectious with even Walmart staff offering them to come home with them for a shower!! Can you imagine that being offered by an Asda employee? (other supermarkets are available of course).

Strangers become friends, and friends become lifelong friends, some even staying in the town, and some become even closer friends. But of course, there's those who lost family and friends because of what happened on September 11 2001, and they are also remembered.

Many of the stories related were not known about until this musical, let's face it the pregnant Bonobo monkey or the cat who was on tablets didn't make front page news, but is equally as interesting to hear about, as well as Bonnie Harris who realised that there would have been animals on the planes and, as she worked in an animal shelter, made it her job to go looking for them, and caring for them.

The stories of the local news reporter, who had just started working for the TV company, the Mayor Claude Elliott, the Police Officer, the female flight staff, as well as the passengers, some of which didn't speak English and had specific dietary needs, the party of children who were travelling over as part of the "Make A Wish" foundation, so many different people of different ages and religions, all scared and unaware of the horrors that were unfolding on that day.

It also depicts how in a situation like this, people can also become very wary of some people and treat them very differently, especially if they are Middle Eastern, the horror and embarrassment of a strip search before they let him on the plane told in such a way that you almost feel ashamed for what he had been put through, just because of his religion.

There's also the story of the gay couple, Kevin and Kevin, who didn't want to reveal their relationship for fear of a backlash, and the Jewish man who discovered that one of the Gander residents was also Jewish, but had never revealed that fact.

There are so many wonderful human stories that are woven into this wonderful comfort blanket of life happenings, all bought about by such a sad turn of events by such evil forces. The resilience and love though won through.

This show is truly an ensemble piece of theatre that was non stop with the cast members all playing several roles, so here's that talented cast with their main roles listed.

Kirt Hammonds (Claude), who I'd not seen since "Les Miserables" at the Royal Centre. Claude Elliott is the Mayor and Kirt cuts an imposing figure, with an equally noticeable voice. Kirt, as Claude, kicks off the show with a real stomper of a song called "Welcome To The Rock", and if that does not get your feet going, there must be something wrong with you (check for a pulse). For some reason, Kirt always reminds me of Robbie Rotten from the kids TV show "Sportacus" (look it up on YouTube or Google).

Laura Spencer (Beverly) is a new name to me, but what a gorgeous voice she has. The programme states that Laura is a backing vocalist in the Uk as well as in Los Angeles, I for one am so pleased that she has decided to let us hear her vocals upfront instead of backing someone else for a while. There's a beautiful song in this musical called "Me And The Sky" which Beverley performs and will give you goosebumps. Hopefully this won't be the last we see and hear of Laura around the area.

Claire Collishaw (Bonnie). I love seeing Claire on stage and her energy is boundless.

Curtis Taylor-Tipton (Oz). The last time I saw Curtis on stage was two years ago in the musical comedy "Curtains", also at the Duchess Theatre. I've enjoyed seeing Curtis on stage now for over a decade and he never rests on his laurels performance wise, and this performance shows that.

Shantanu Bhumbra (Kevin), is another one of my favourite performers having had the pleasure of seeing him in various roles over the last five years (now there's a great musical). Kevin is one half of the gay partnership in the story with his partner, also named Kevin - let's face it, where would the theatre be without a "Kevin" in it? 

David Page (Kevin T), I last saw in "Kinky Boots" for Carlton Operatic, if I remember rightly, but it was so good seeing him once again in a more central role as Kevin's partner, where we get to hear his vocals. Long Eaton is so rich with stage talent and David has been a big part of providing that talent in many ways.

Adela Green (Diane). This show provides an actor to really show off their vocals, due to the various styles and singing combinations, and Adela has one of those voices that turn your legs to jelly when you hear her, and there are some beautiful songs in this show that give vocalists like Adela the opportunity to display those vocal talents.

Joanne Kay Shearsby (Belulah). Another amazing voice (the show is packed with them), and an incredibly emotive voice at that. I've had the pleasure of hearing Jo sing opera as well as operetta, and I know the strength and control that Joanne has over her instrument. Beulah is one of those roles that has to keep it all together in the face of adversity and Joanne gives a great performance as this character, and only lets that facade slip near the end when she receives a phone call from Diane.

Hilary Leam (Hannah). This show is like a "who's who" of theatre performers, and I've seen Hilary play some brilliant roles over the years, like Madame Thenardier in the recent  40th Anniversary of "Les Miserables" at the Nottingham Theatre Royal. This is another great role to add to the CV, and of course, another great voice.

Matt Wesson (Nick). Matt gets to pull a variety of accents out with his roles, and it's not often that you hear matt put on an accent, and this production must have really got matt's juices flowing for treading the boards again as, apart from the aforementioned 40th "Les Miserables", you don't often get to see him on the stage itself. Matt is a lovely character actor so it was no surprise to me that all of his roles were completely different and with the added accents gave a real pot pourri of characters for us to enjoy. Great fun to watch, but then again, he's a fun guy!

Zain Abrahams (Bob). I have been reviewing Zain for a long time now in various theatre shows, but there is one thing about Zain that it very different about him that I don't think anyone else over the years can match, and that's his vocals. I'm not saying that he has a better voice than any other actor, but he has one of the most distinctive voices I've heard for decades. Even when he speaks, he has distinction, and that's because he sounds so much like Terence Trent D'Arby (again kids Google the name or go to YouTube). Zain has a raw soulfulness to his vocals, singing and otherwise, and that comes out in the characters that he plays in "Come From Away".

Izzi Parsons (Janice) is another new name to me, maybe because she has been taking a sabbatical from the stage, and has chosen to make her return in this show. Janice is the news reporter who has been given this set of tragic consequences to debut her reporting job for the local TV company. Talk about a baptism of fire! as with everyone else involved in this incredibly talented cast, the acting from Izzi and the vocals are off the chart, and I really hope that we get to see and hear more Izzi in the future.

Directed by Zak Charlesworth and Oliver Wheddon (who I've not seen in years, and was so lovely to see him again on Thursday night). This is a big show, it's performed straight through and is almost entirely sung straight through, but Zak seems to enjoy giving himself mountains to climb, and he always reaches the top. This show has been a favourite of mine since I first saw it last October when it toured professionally, and this production is as good as the professional touring one, stage and direction wise.

Choreographed by Shannon O'Donnell, and I found out something about Shannon on Thursday night that immediately made all the choreographical jigsaw pieces fall into place.  If you know the soundtrack, or have seen this musical before, you'll know there's an awful lot of Ireland in it - being part Irish myself, I spotted that! The music is Irish and Shannon grew up in a family of Irish musicians with traditional roots, therefore it goes without saying that the choreography for this style of music comes deep from within. 

But it's not just the dance choreography that was perfect, but the whole placing of the stage props to coincide with the music that made this show as slick as it is; the timing of the stage management of the tables, chairs etc was excellent.

Musical Director is Ben Ward, and as soon as I saw that, knowing the soundtrack to be brilliant, I automatically knew that the music side of this show was in some of the best hands an MD could have. Traditional Celtic music sounds incredible when performed faithfully and Ben's band of musicians Jamie Newell (guitar), Dan Emery (Bass), Dawn Bratby (Woodwind), Karen Bithel (Fiddle), Andy Sheltonagn (Percussion) and Dave Shipley (Drums) really stirred my Irish roots. My feet were dancing but the top half of my body was still.

Lighting design is by Ethan Hamblett and sound design is by Dave Dallard. There were a few issues with crackly mic pacs and a couple of late mic cues but nothing that marred my enjoyment of the production. There were a couple of times when the spotlight had a quick search to focus on the actor on stage, but that said, this is quite an energetic piece of theatre so there's plenty of movement and mobile mic pacs are often not as robust as  maybe they could be, and when an actor is on the move, landing a perfect spot is not always as easy as it sounds, or looks.

An easy decision to provide a standing ovation for such a worthy production and an impeccable cast.

"Come From Away" is at the Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton until Saturday 27 September. It's well worth a gander.