If (like me), you’ve never seen Miss Saigon, this is a powerful introduction. If you know every note already, Leeds Grand offers the chance to experience this classic anew; it’s leaner, bolder, and burning with a fresh kind of fire. Boublil and Schönberg’s legendary musical is reborn as Michael Harrison, in association with Cameron Mackintosh, presents a new touring production of Miss Saigon, running at Leeds Grand Theatre until December 13th 2025.
I went to review the reimagined production of Miss Saigon for H&N Magazine and from the very first pounding drumbeat of “The Heat is On in Saigon”, it’s clear this new UK and Ireland tour is doing exactly what the marketing promises: this is The Legend reborn.
The premise
Miss Saigon reimagines Madama Butterfly in the final days of the Vietnam War. Seventeen-year-old Kim, a refugee from the countryside, is pushed into working at Dreamland, a bar and brothel controlled by the hustling (and morally slippery) Engineer. There she meets Chris, an American GI, and over the course of a few frantic nights they fall into a love that feels almost impossibly pure against the backdrop of violence and exploitation.
The fall of Saigon tears them apart. Chris is airlifted out with the US forces while Kim is left behind, pregnant and determined that their son will have a future. The second act follows her journey to Bangkok and his new life in America, exposing the gulf between their realities until their paths finally re-cross, with devastating effects.
It’s a plot that has always generated controversy as well as devotion, yet you can feel why the show has become a modern classic. Since its 1989 West End premiere, Miss Saigon has played across the world, winning armfuls of awards and becoming one of musical theatre’s defining blockbusters. Whatever your stance on it, this is a juggernaut of modern theatre history!
A leaner, fiercer production
This is a new touring production, produced by Michael Harrison in association with Cameron Mackintosh and directed by Jean-Pierre van der Spuy, and it feels intimate and urgently contemporary (even to a first-time viewer like me). You can definitely sense its roots as a huge, era-defining mega-musical, but here the spectacle is channelled with more restraint. The iconic helicopter moment which I heard so much about from my theatre friends is still here and is thrillingly realized, (don’t worry, purists!), and there’s a sharp focus on character and story despite the impressive staging.
Andrew D Edwards’ flexible set uses sliding metal frames, gantries and shadowy rooms to suggest Saigon’s backstreets, Bangkok’s seedier corners and the suburbs of Atlanta in an ingenious way and without ever slowing the pace. The stage is constantly reconfiguring, like the character’s memories and views. The design feels impressively big for a touring show, yet it retains a sense of immediacy.
What really stitches it together, though, is Bruno Poet’s lighting. Dreamland is all neon pinks and bright reds but during “Sun and Moon” the colour drains away to a soft gold; it is as if time has stopped to give Chris and Kim one night of peace. During the evacuation of Saigon, strobing lights and silhouettes of soldiers create a sense of utter chaos. It’s an integral part of the production’s storytelling and masterfully done.
The Engineer is a scene-stealing triumph
If this production of Miss Saigon has a standout, it’s Seann Miley Moore as The Engineer. Moore is already known to many from The X Factor UK and from the acclaimed international tour of this show, where they picked up a Critics’ Choice Award in Sydney for Best Performance in a Musical. On stage in Leeds, they are simply magnetic.
This Engineer is part ringmaster, part hustler, part icon. Moore owns the stage in glittering costumes, eyes on the main chance and flirting with the characters and also with the audience itself.
Vocally, they sail through the score and build detail into the complex character in a way that stays with you. There’s a flash of panic when a scheme slips out of their control and a suggestion of bruised pride when the Americans leave Saigon without them, and even some softness that (almost) surfaces in “If You Want to Die in Bed”.
“The American Dream” is a total standout. It’s a wonderfully garish, full-throttle, gender-bending fantasia on fame and capitalism. The staging gets crazier by the second with a dollar sign descending from the ceiling, dancers, sequins. Moore brandishes a grin that invites you to enjoy the decadence even though the rot underneath is obvious. It’s funny and also thrilling (alongside being a little nauseating) which is, quite frankly, exactly as it should be.
Kim: a voice that soars
Opposite the whirlwind and presence of Moore, the show needs a Kim who can carry the shows heart and innocence. Julianne Pundan, a recent BRIT School graduate making her professional debut, more than rises to that challenge.
Across the evening, she gives a performance that is assured and open. Vocally, she’s thrilling, having a gorgeously crystalline ring at the top of her range and an emotional lower range that grounds numbers like “I’d Give My Life for You” in a raw way. You can hear why early reviews across the tour have singled her out as a major new talent.
Kane makes an engaging Chris, his affable charm slowly changing into guilt as the consequences of his choices catch up with him. Dom Hartley-Harris brings gravitas and vocal heft to John, while Emily Langham avoids turning Ellen into a stock “other woman”, giving her own heartbreak its due weight.
Why Miss Saigon endures
Part of the reason Miss Saigon remains iconic is, of course, the score. Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil spin big, sweeping melodies that lodge themselves in your head for days, from the famous opening to the simplicity of “Bui Doi”. The music’s emotional directness has always been the shows superpower, and under Graham Hurman’s musical supervision the orchestra here finds a lovely balance between lush and lean.
I think the other reason is that the themes refuse to age. Displacement, the human cost of foreign policy, mixed-race children caught between worlds, women’s bodies weaponised by war; unfortunately these don’t feel like themes of the past.
The important info:
Miss Saigon runs at Leeds Grand Theatre from Tuesday 2 to Saturday 13 December 2025, with evening performances plus mid-week and Saturday matinees.
The running time is around 2 hours 40 minutes, including an interval, and the age guidance is 14+ due to wartime violence, sexual content and strong language.
At the time of writing, ticket prices start at around £25 and rise to roughly £85 depending on seat and performance.
Tickets can be bought online via Leeds Heritage Theatres’ website at https://leedsheritagetheatres.com/whats-on/miss-saigon-2025/
Or by calling the Box Office on 0113 243 0808.
Review and some images by Victoria Reddington @vic_reddington
Most images supplied
