Julianne Pundan Archives - North West End UK

23Apr

By Emma LambeNo Comments

North West

Miss Saigon – Liverpool Empire

Miss Saigon is an iconic love story set in the last days of the Vietnam War. 17-year-old Kim is forced to work in a Saigon bar run by a notorious character known as The Engineer. There she meets and falls in love with an American GI named Chris, but they are torn apart by the fall of Saigon. For 3 years Kim goes on an epic journey of survival to find her way back to Chris, who has no idea he's fathered a son. There are some musicals that can stand the test of time, and this is certainly one of them. In this new and updated production of Miss Saigon, it's not so much a reinterpretation, but the same Miss Saigon fans know and love, but with a different creative approach. The role of the Engineer is played by the incredibly diverse Sean Miles Moore, stunning the audience with commanding...

22Jan

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Miss Saigon – Hull New Theatre

The musical, Miss Saigon, has been watched by over 33 million worldwide. You can add probably a few more thousand on to that figure, if Wednesday night's attendance of the show at Hull's New Theatre is anything to go by. The place was packed. Miss Saigon is in the city as part of a major UK and Ireland tour and relates to events during the last days of the Vietnam War, in 1975, exactly 50 years ago. As soon as the opening stage screen, depicting a huge sacred bird, rose, it was non-stop drama all the way. Many theatre productions now have glorious video backdrops which, brilliantly, showcase much of the story that there would be no time to explain in words. And this production was no different with opening images of bombing, fighter aircraft et al showing us the horrors of w...

4Dec

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Miss Saigon – Leeds Grand

When I was a student in London I saw all the big musicals, but for some reason I missed Miss Saigon which was smashing box office records at the time. Thankfully legendary impresario Cameron Mackintosh and Michael Harrison have joined forces to bring this sung through musical about the Vietnam war back on the road, exactly 50 years after that bloody conflict ended. Given the perilous state of the world reviving a musical based on Puccini’s Madame Butterfly about the cost of war is really timely. Like most musicals the narrative is driven by a love story, but the tale of GI Chris falling in love with a seventeen-year-old bargirl Kim being exploited by an odious pimp The Engineer in war torn Saigon is far, far gritter than most musicals. Years later Chris finds out his lost love has ha...

14Nov

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

Miss Saigon – Palace Theatre

The 2025 tour of Miss Saigon has descended upon Manchester’s Palace Theatre, a moment I approached with a mixture of excitement and nerves. This musical is, without question, my unrivalled favourite of all time. Having seen it over 50 times, I know the script, staging, and emotional landscape inside out. So, would this new version soar like a phoenix… or fall short? Miss Saigon follows Kim, a young Vietnamese girl forced to work in a Saigon bar after losing her family. There she meets Chris, an American soldier, and over one night their lives become bound by a powerful, unexpected love. When Saigon falls, Chris is airlifted out in the chaos, unaware that Kim has survived and is now raising their son, Tam. Determined to protect her child at any cost, Kim endures years of hardship while C...