Miss Saigon, Crucible Sheffield Review

★ ★ ★ ★ .5

Reviewer - Harry

*Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review

TW: Flashing lights, (not strobe), Haze, Sudden Loud Sounds, Gunshots, Smoking on stage.

CW: Language and Themes of Adult Nature with also moments that some people might find upsetting and shocking.

There’s no doubt that Miss Saigon contains racially reductive stereotypes. For producers of this production in Sheffield, they saw it as an opportunity to give a fresh perspective in a statement released by the team in response to the backlash. It was time to see what this production would deliver.

Based on Giacomo Puccini's opera, Madame Butterfly, Miss Saigon is set later in the Vietnam War and follows an American GI, Chris, and Kim, a Vietnamese bar girl, who fall in love at the Dreamland Nightclub. But when Saigon falls apart and everything changes, both are split and Kim decides to go on a journey to find him.

This non-replica production of Boublil and Schönberg’s musical is co-directed by Robert Hastie and Anthony Lau, with Choreography by Jade Hackett. This a show jam-packed with lots of different themes beyond just the war and its impact is immediate. Miss Saigon really takes the audience through some very hard emotions and how they portray this, really is powerful.

Directors Hastie and Lau have created a very powerful story through their work and done a remarkable job of building something different. There is definitely a more personal feel to how this show is executed and it means the audience are engaged more into the action from the beginning. This is shown during Act 2 particularly in the song “Bui Doi”, changing the direction of the song from a TV broadcast to a small meeting. By changing the perspective of this you see and feel the songs differently, creating a more personal interaction on a very important subject matter and letting you engage and anticipate what’s to come next. Another area in which Robert and Anthony have directed really well is the change of the point of view when watching the show. They are to be experienced for yourself! The final moments of Act 1 create an edge of your seat moment. Robert and Anthony create intense but fresh direction, they take a well-known and powerful musical and flip it on its head reimagining the show completely and they do this exceedingly well.

Boublil and Schönberg’s book is still emotional and brilliant. This production has one big change, The Engineer, who traditionally in the original and previous productions, is played by a man. Now played by a woman, this doesn't change the story at all, yes a few lines have been adapted, but with very bold and powerful direction, The Engineer delivers a line in “Movie in my Mind”, which I actually felt more suited to the backstory of the character, and it sets up The Engineers objective to get out of Saigon, which brought to life how the character is imagining this through the lyrics in the song.

Members of the company in in Miss Saigon. Photo by Johan Persson..jpg

Jessica Lee (Kim and Alternate Mimi) and Christian Maynard (Chris) in Miss Saigon. Photo by Johan Persson..jpg

Jade Hackett’s Choreography is all-out and high-powered from start to finish, with it making you sit on the edge of your seat during “The Morning of the Dragon”. Then the choreography changes quite dramatically within “The American Dream” making this a fun, smiley number. Jade really gets the audience's attention and also fills the stage with fearless and gutsy choreography which is presented perfectly by the cast.

Joanna Ampil, who has previously been in Miss Saigon, steps into the shoes of The Engineer. Joanna makes history by being the first woman to play this role and let’s just say Joanna is outstanding. Joanna takes The Engineer and the character's objective and runs with it, using these objectives to her advantage, this creates new actions to get what the character wants. Joanna also battles with obstacles in the character’s way well, her performance was showstopping and especially her stand-out performance of “The American Dream”, bringing comedy, power and also making history, Joanna’s take on The Engineer is a joy to watch.

Jessica Lee shines as Kim, having beautiful vocals and amazing characterisation. Jessica shows a mothering nature to her character's son Tam, which really breaks your heart at the end, as Jessica shows that she wants the best for her son. Jessica has great chemistry with Christian Maynard, who plays Chris, with both vocals working so well together. Vocally Jessica's performance of “I still believe” was stunning and the audience felt every word. Jessica's version of Kim is so pure and raw and is truly believable.

Christian Maynard gives a brilliant performance as Chris. His version of “Why God, Why” is rich and vocally strong, he had me engaged throughout the show, for me making Chris a very engaging character. Christian gives emotion and works brilliantly with Shanay Holmes, character wise Christian puts himself into the character’s shoes and it really shows, Christian excels on stage and delivers a great performance.

Designer Ben Stones gives a grey expandable and adaptable set, which is an effective bit of design with a moveable staircase, which could either be leading to hidden openable doors, or creating the feeling of taking off in a helicopter. The set isn’t overly complicated, making the audience focus more on the action on stage. As the previous production felt there was so much to look at to create the sense of location, but this production has dialled back the staging to create a setting for the show to speak for itself. Ben's design goes well with Andrzej Goulding's video and animation, Goulding uses video effectively and also ties nicely to the lighting by Jessica Hung Han Yun leaving your mouth wide open with the work created.

This highly anticipated Miss Saigon production is definitely impressive. It's bold, exciting and captivating from start to finish. Sheffield Theatres has done it yet again, creating theatre that will leave you feeling wow, last night proved it as there was a standing ovation. For me, I loved this production and it is probably my favourite. It's a phenomenal theatrical experience, go see Miss Saigon at the Sheffield Crucible now. You won’t want to miss it.