THE WORLD famous love story of Miss Saigon has landed in Bristol, and frankly if you don’t have tickets, why not?

As one of the most famous musicals in the world, the show comes with a certain level of prestige, but I can’t say I was prepared for the tour de force that was Cameron Mackintosh’s production of Boublil and Schönberg’s legendary musical last night at the Hippodrome.

Despite being written in the 1980’s, the show bears no tired signs as the amazing multi-cultural cast throws the audience right into life at the end of the Vietnam War and the terrible aftermath thrust onto both sides.

The cursed love story between American GI Chris and Vietnamese 17-year-old Kim is wonderfully portrayed by Ashley Gilmour and Sooha Kim, with their outstanding voices stirring the emotions of the audience over the pain of their separation, only being matched later on by Kim’s pure delight at the prospect of being reunited with her love.

The show is wonderfully supported by the rest of the cast, including Elana Martin as Chris’ American wife ‘Ellen’ and Gerald Santos as Kim’s possessive honour-obsessed betrothed ‘Thuy’, both effortless in showing their pain and resentment to Chris and Kim’s connection – although as you will see, they react very differently!

Neither Ryan O’Gorman as Chris’s friend and commanding officer John, nor Aicelle Santos as Gigi put a foot wrong throughout the whole show, helping to complete this wonderful cast.

The bravery of the very young Harvey Ip as Kim and Chris’ lovechild Tam to be on the stage at his age was also marvellous to see.

But the true scene stealer was Red Concepcion comical yet villainous portrayal of ‘The Engineer’, the sleazy pimp and club owner who is always looking out for himself in his quest to escape to the USA.

His constant presence on the stage and the lavish performance of “The American Dream” were particular highlights of the show, with the ridiculous costumes only helping to amplify the greedy damaged character beneath.

And then there is the set….just wow! It apparently takes this production three full days to put everything together when it arrives on a new stage, and you can see why, with the stage transforming from the bamboo buildings of Saigon to the sleazy tourist trap of Bangkok and on to a colossal amphitheatre in Atlanta, Georgia, in a matter of seconds.

The fact that Cadillacs and helicopters also storming the stage makes you wonder if the Hippodrome is in fact a Tardis as it almost beyond belief how they can fit it all in.

Overall, Miss Saigon is a wonderful showcase of musical theatre, of a scale not often seen at the Hippodrome, drawing you in with its love story and refusing to let go of your attention for a second.

Cameron Mackintosh’s production of Boublil and Schönberg’s Miss Saigon is on at The Bristol Hippodrome from Wednesday, May 16 to Saturday June 23. Tickets are available from www.atgtickets.com/bristol.