Miss Saigon

Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schonberg

Michael Harrison Entertainment & Cameron Mackintosh

Venue Cymru, Llandudno

January 6-10, 2026; 2 hrs 40 mins

(also at New Theatre, Hull, January 20-24; Liverpool Empire, April 21-May 2; Bradford Alhambra, May 5-9; Blackpool Winter Gardens, June 20-July 4; Manchester Palace, August 4-8)

Julianne Pundan as Kim, after killing her would-be husband Thuy (Mikko Juan), in Miss Saigon. All pics: Danny Khan

Since it opened in London in 1989, Miss Saigon has become an iconic production, with success worldwide and a well known, emotive story.

By modern standards the show has a large cast and needs ambitious, imaginative settings, so isn't easy to stage. But it remains a landmark of late 20th Century musicals, and the standing ovation given on opening night in Llandudno was ample reinforcement of that fact.

Miss Saigon is famously based on Puccini’s Madame Butterfly and the storyline is reasonably straightforward. Chris, a young American soldier, meets Kim, a Vietnamese call girl. They fall passionately in love before being cruelly separated. 

The major action is set in Saigon during the dramatic evacuation from the American embassy in 1975. Chris’s attempt to extract Kim from the chaos fails, and they are forced to live with the consequences of their actions, the trauma of warfare and more importantly, a child. 

The musical is dramatic and serious and needs strong leads to be convincing - in this production namely Seann Miley Moore as Kim’s pimp, the Engineer, and Julianne Pundan as KIm. Moore's bar-owner is a multifaceted character, by turns brutish or obsequious, then camping it up suggestively. Pundan has a great voice with a wide range and hits the top notes convincingly. 

These are ably supported by Jack Kane as Chris and Dominic Hartley-Harris as his comrade in arms, John.  The staging shows some thoughtful touches, such as the conclusion to the show-stopping number, Last night of the world, during which American bombers are pictured over the duetting couple. The cast as a whole attacks the evening with well-planned gusto, maintaining the strength of the plot even during scenes depicting the chaos of the evacuation.

Miss Saigon has had its share of controversies in its time, in particular its demeaning, stereotypical portrayal of Asian women, but its fairly superficial attitude to a snapshot in time isn't a reflection of south-east Asian culture as a whole. Indeed, you could point to similar behaviour from almost any nation in almost any conflict. The show makes the point that people should be held accountable for their actions and that there is a huge gap between rich and poor that drives people, especially women, into behaviours that others find morally reprehensible. 

But such ruminations should not spoil what is an excellent night's entertainment - one that moved many to tears (despite the technology behind the famous helicopter landing sequence failing briefly). 

This second collaboration between Boublil and Schonberg had a difficult job in following Les Miserables, but remains a favourite for many. It should be on the ‘must see’ list of anyone with even a slight interest in musical theatre.

More info and tickets here