When it opens in the West End tonight, new musical Come From Away is bound to move many of its audience to tears - not least because it includes one of the most unusual love stories ever told on stage.
The show reveals how Gander, a small town in Newfoundland, welcomed more than half the number of its entire population when flights were forced into emergency landings on September 11.
The residents of Gander did all they could to welcome those who found themselves stranded in a place they didn’t know - and many of the passengers found themselves striking up life-long relationships. It’s unsurprising that the extraordinary events went on to inspire Canadian writers Irene Sankoff and David Hein to pen a musical.
Perhaps most memorable of all are Nick and Diane, portrayed by Rob Hands and Helen Hobson in the show. Nick, a British businessman who was travelling from Gatwick to Houston for work, met Houston-native Diane after they had been stuck on the same plane for 30 hours.
The Standard met the actors portraying the pair - and the real Nick and Diane, who unexpectedly found love in the most extraordinary circumstances (and now even have their own Twitter account: twitter.com/realnickandiane).
“You have to ask yourself, why us? Every couple has their magical moments, and I guess that ours happened at a tragic time in the world,” said Nick.
Come From Away is at the Phoenix Theatre, and is currently booking until September 14.
Come From Away at the Phoenix Theatre - in pictures
