Miss Saigon returns to London

Rumours of a return to London for Miss Saigon have been around for several years now and so it is fitting that the 25th anniversary of its world Premier in London should be marked by a new production and a return to London’s West End and the Prince Edward Theatre in Soho. Film rights were released in 2011 but with the huge success of the Les Miserables film in 2012 and the knock on effect it had on sales for the theatrical version, the money making possibilities that will accompany a second successful run in London can’t have escaped the writers: messrs Boubil and Schonberg and, of course the producer: the esteemed Cameron Mackintosh. But this will not just be a lazy re-hash of the old show; theatre-goers are promised an updated, grittier version this time round. “If anything the tragic love story of Miss Saigon has become even more relevant today,” Mackintosh told The Telegraph recently, referring to the effect that the ongoing military action in Iraq and Afghanistan is having on an ever-increasing number of families across the whole country. The musical tells of a young American soldier who falls in love with a Vietnamese girl but is forced to leave her beind when the American leave the country and is based on Puccini’s Madame Butterfly. The show will open in May of 2014 but the important date that fans have got underlined in their diaries is 9th September 2013 when tickets and theatre breaks go on sale. With new shows coming into London from the pens of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice (Stephen Ward and From Here to Eternity respectively), it is interesting to note that Miss Saigon is stealing the limelight this summer. Maybe that will change once those shows open and the critics, or what is left of them on the national papers, let us all know whether the new shows have got what we remember the old shows had in trumps! The new production of Miss Saigon will be directed by Laurence Connor. Miss Saigon has been seen by over 35 million people around the world, in 28 countries and it has been sung in 15 different languages/ The musical has won over 40 awards including  3  Tony Awards and 2 Oliviers. Simon Harding is Editor at Theatre Breaks. If you would like to be a guest blogger on A Luxury Travel Blog in order to raise your profile, please contact us.