'Come from Away’ portrays the story of groups of people who were impacted by the grounding of planes after the 9/11 attack. Students thought that this would be a harrowing and strange concept for a musical, but all were pleasantly surprised and enjoyed the experience.

Before the show, we were greeted by Joseph Smith, one of the producers of the show. He showed the students the stage and discussed the Gaelic influences in the musical and where the band would be sitting. He explained that the staging was basic, using just chairs, two tables, costumes and a revolving stage and that there were 12 performers on stage (all who multi-role) and seven musicians at the side of stage. Our scholars were very concerned when they heard the drummer was in a room on his own under the stage, but then once the show started they realised the importance of this as he would overpower the voices. Students were able to ask questions about the process of putting a show on in the West End and asked him some fantastic questions.

All the students were outstanding during this trip, all loved the experience and it has given them a taste of West End shows. During the half term, we have been focusing on roles within the music industry and this experience had some of them exclaiming “I want to do that!” and be involved. We discussed the diversity of roles and people involved in putting on a production and how it is not just the small cast you see on stage. The students were shocked at the level of detail expected in the sound engineering, lighting, costume and performing.

On Wednesday, the music scholars set off to watch 'Come From Away' the West End Musical in the Phoenix Theatre. It was an amazing trip, and the musical was incredible - all the actors were very talented, and the entire show was phenomenal. The producer let us know about the orchestra and how the musicians were set up on the stage - it was interesting to know about how music in theatres is produced and the technology behind it. Overall, I really enjoyed it and it was a great experience for us all!                                                          Catherine

Students will be using this experience to assist with their Arts Award scheme, in which they have to write a review about a live experience of a music event. I look forward to reading their reviews of the show and for our next trip too! 

Miss Ogden, Head of Music