A musical inspired by the true events from the week following 9/11 will be performed in Bath for the first time this coming February.
In the week following the attacks of 9/11 2001, 7,000 plane passengers were grounded in a small town in Newfoundland. Their stories, and the stories of the local community who took care of them, inspired the creation of the musical, ‘Come From Away’, with book, music and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein.
First staged on Broadway in 2017, ‘Come From Away’ was nominated for seven Tony awards that year. The 2019 original West End production was nominated for nine Olivier awards and won four, including Best New Musical. Despite multiple professional tours and amateur performances since then, this year’s production by Spare Room Theatre is the first ever to be staged in Bath.
“I went to see the original West End production in 2019 and immediately fell in love with the musical,” said Spare Room Theatre Co-Founder, Harry Burt, “I actually sent a message to the rest of the company as soon as I got out of the theatre saying ‘It’s the perfect Spare Room show!’”
Founded in 2013 by Harry Burt, Andrew English, and James Moore, Spare Room Theatre has been performing musicals in and around Bath for over ten years. Previous productions include ‘Gutenberg: The Musical’, ‘Spring Awakening’, ‘Urinetown’, ‘Spelling Bee’, ‘Story of My Life’ and an original mash-up of songs by Stephen Sondheim titled ‘Spare Room Unpacked’. Starring 18 local actors, ‘Come From Away’ is one of the largest casts Spare Room have worked with.
“We are working with an incredible cast of local performers,” continued Harry, who also acts as Musical Director for Spare Room’s production of ‘Come From Away’, “right from the start of the rehearsal process I’ve been blown away by their talent and their commitment to doing this story justice.”
“The story is so inspiring,” said ‘Come From Away’ director Richard Pugh, “the fact that this small community took 7,000 strangers into their homes and fed them and clothed them, in the aftermath of this terrifying event, is just amazing.”
Rich has multiple connections to the musical, having performed in one of the first amateur productions of the show in Frome last year. “It’s definitely different not being on the stage this time,” said Richard, “but I love the show so much that it’s by no means a hardship!”
Working alongside Richard and Harry on the production are local choreographer and dance practitioner, Amy Maughan; assistant director, Lizzie Fallows; set designer and costumer, Rebecca Walker; and lighting designer, Andrew Whiting.
‘Come From Away’ will be performed at the Wroughton Theatre, King Edward’s School, North Road, Claverton Down, BA2 6HU, from Wednesday 18th to Saturday 21st February 2026, 7.30 pm plus a 2.30 pm matinee on Saturday 21st February 2026.
More information and tickets are available on Ticketsource: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/spareroom
This amateur production is presented by arrangement with Music Theatre International. All authorised materials are also supplied by MTI – www.MTIShows.co.uk
