Year 11 student, Ben Garry, was on work experience with us recently and gives us his review on Miss Saigon.

When I was younger, I used to go to Birmingham Hippodrome all the time. I watched many pantomimes and shows like Jack and the Beanstalk, Dick Whittington, Cinderella and many more.

I hadn’t been to the Hippodrome in a while so when I was told that I was going to be watching Miss Saigon, I didn’t have any expectations because I hadn’t heard of this show before and because I hadn’t been to the theatre in such a long time.

Although I had no expectations, I was excited to watch it and I wasn’t disappointed. Miss Saigon is an amazing musical which tells a powerful story of a Vietnamese woman meeting the love of her life and how far she’ll go to make sure everyone she loves is happy and safe. All of the music was performed intensely and conveyed compelling emotions whether it was happiness and joy that the Engineer was feeling or the quiet, romantic scenes between Kim and Chris.

My favourite character was the Engineer because he brought so much joy and excitement to his scenes. My favourite scene was when a helicopter was brought onto stage because it looked so realistic and the use of the lights to show it flying away gave an impression of realism.

Overall, this show had an incredible cast, meticulous sets and props and a touching story which really brought the story to life and I feel very privileged to have had the chance to watch this spectacular musical.

I highly recommend that you come to Birmingham Hippodrome to watch this unbelievable performance because I can surely say it has relit my interest in going to the theatre.