This Miss Saigon lands with awe and urgency. Back at Oxford’s New Theatre for the first time since 2004, and, for the first time here, with the full staging including the helicopter sequence, this touring production is exquisitely sung, acted with bite, and visually spectacular. The standing ovation felt inevitable.
The story (briefly, no spoilers)
Set in the final days of the Vietnam War and its aftermath, the musical follows Kim (Julianne Pundan), a 17-year-old orphan forced to work at Dreamland, and Chris Scott (Jack Kane), a US Marine who wants nothing to do with the club’s trade. Their whirlwind love is shattered by the chaotic evacuation of Saigon. Three years later, news of Tam, Kim and Chris’s child, forces choices that carry devastating weight.
Why it works
- Seann Miley Moore gives a show-stealing turn as the Engineer, sleazy, magnetic, and very, very funny. Their “The American Dream” is a bona fide roof-raiser.
- Julianne Pundan and Jack Kane are a luminous Kim and Chris. “Sun and Moon” is sung with aching clarity; their scenes carry the emotional spine of the night.
- The ensemble is superb: from the sensory shock of Dreamland to the panic of the evacuation, the company builds the world with precision and drive.
- Design & effects: the production values are huge for a touring show; the helicopter scene is staged with real cinematic punch.
Performances that linger
Pundan’s Kim is brave, fiercely maternal and never sentimental. Kane gives Chris a complicated, human pull between duty, guilt and love. Mikko Juan’s Thuy is chillingly implacable. And yes, Tam (played at our performance by Samantha Reese Camiguing) brought audible “awws” from across the stalls.
“Hold me one last time.” The line that drew a sharp intake of breath around the auditorium did so again here.
Verdict
A stunning, heart-rending production that earns its ovation the old-fashioned way: with big singing, big storytelling and big design. If you’ve never seen Miss Saigon, start here. If you have, this is the one you bring people to.
Need to know
- Venue: New Theatre Oxford
- Run: to Saturday 3 January 2026
- Age guidance: contains adult themes, war scenes and moments that some may find distressing
- Tickets & info: https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/miss-saigon/new-theatre-oxford/
Cast at the performance we saw
- Kim — Julianne Pundan
- Chris — Jack Kane
- Engineer — Seann Miley Moore
- Thuy — Mikko Juan
- Tam — Samantha Reese Camiguing
- (Ensemble and swings as listed in the programme)
