Entertainment
3 February, 2025
Douglas stars shine in Cairns
TWO Douglas Shire residents, Narelle Spencer and Stephen Bigby, have recently played key roles in ‘Come From Away’ a Cairns Choral Society musical production that started earlier in January at the Cairns Performing Arts Centre and ended on January 18.
Narelle has lived in Cooya Beach for 18 years and Stephen, for a number of years in Mossman.
Both are well known in the Douglas Shire, having appeared in many performances at the Clink Theatre and, outside of their acting interests, they are both valued workers at Mossman Hospital.
I was privileged to have both of these talented people on my radio show recently and saw signs for the musical around Port Douglas.
I was intrigued to know where the name ‘Come From Away’ originated from, what it meant and what the musical was all about.
To help explain, it is probably easier to start with a description of the musical itself, which was inspired by the extraordinary events of September 11, 2001.
The story itself is more related to the following day, September 12, after 38 planes were forced out of US air space the day before and were unexpectedly diverted to the small town of Gander in Canada’s most easterly province, Newfoundland.
Overnight, the town’s population doubled following the unexpected arrival of 7000 stranded passengers.
Nicknamed ‘come from aways’, the plane people found themselves welcomed into the open arms of the ‘Islander’ locals who rallied together, providing shelter, food and comfort in the wake of the global tragedy and one of the 21st century’s darkest days.
Newfoundland originally got its name from New Finland. Locals would refer to visitors as people who had ‘come from away’.
Another question I had for my guests was how such a tragic event, arguably one of the world’s worst, could result in an upbeat musical?
Being more about the events of September 12, Narelle explained, than the tragic events of 9/11, the story demonstrates the resilience of the human spirit, highlighting how kindness and compassion shines brightest in adversity.
This is a quality every Far North Queenslander has experienced, most recently following the catastrophic floods in the aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Jasper.
To further enhance this, apart from the superb acting, the onstage band has also been hitting its high notes with a musical score that blends traditional musical theatre styles with Newfoundland-inspired orchestrations that echo the region’s Irish influences.
The shows were a great success.
I’m off to break a leg or as they say Down Under in the theatrical world, chookas, so for now it’s Gazza signing out.
Send your stories to gazza@cairnslocalnews.com.au
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