TOP impresario Sir Cameron Mackintosh has today announced that his acclaimed new production of Boublil and Schönberg’s legendary musical Miss Saigon will play Southampton.

A recent smash hit in the West End the show will embark on a major UK tour in 2017 arriving at Mayflower Theatre 21 February – 17 March 2018.

Casting is to be announced soon and tickets go on sale 24 October 2016.

Cameron Mackintosh, who brought Mary Poppins to the Mayflower earlier this year, said: “It’s hard to believe that it has been over 25 years since Miss Saigon first opened, but if anything, the tragic love story of the show has become even more relevant today.

"This new production, directed by Laurence Connor, takes a grittier, more realistic approach than the original production while still delivering the power and epic sweep of Boublil and Schönberg’s tremendous score.

"Of all my shows, Miss Saigon is the one that I have received the most requests from the public to bring back.

"I am thrilled that audiences around the UK will get to see this tremendous new production that audiences and critics in London have embraced since it opened in 2014; which I am now taking to Broadway with its original West End stars opening next March at the Broadway Theatre.

"Audiences who can’t wait, will get a preview of the scale of this wonderful production at forthcoming screenings of the Miss Saigon 25th Anniversary Performance which was filmed live in London, in selected screens across the UK on 16 October.”

“I am so thankful for Mayflower Theatre audiences for making Mary Poppins an incredible success back in June and I am proud to be bringing my huge new production of Miss Saigon to Southampton in the spring of 2018.”

The new London production of Miss Saigon opened in London in May 2014 to record-breaking advance sales and critical acclaim. Dominic Cavendish in The Daily Telegraph wrote, “This thrilling new production spills out beyond the theatre and speaks directly to the times we live in”.

The show swept the board at the 2015 Whatsonstage.com awards winning a record breaking nine awards, the most awards ever won by a single show in the 15-year history of the awards including: Best West End Show and Best Revival of a Musical.

Miss Saigon tells the story of young bar girl named Kim, orphaned by war, who falls in love with Chris, an American GI - but their lives are torn apart by the fall of Saigon.

Since its London premiere in 1989, Cameron Mackintosh’s production of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg’s epic musical has become one of the most successful musicals in history.

The original Broadway production opened on April 11, 1991 with what was the largest advance sale in Broadway history ($37 million).

The show went on to play for nearly ten years and 4,063 performances seen by more than 5.9 million people.

Miss Saigon has been performed in 28 countries, over 300 cities in 15 different languages, has won over 40 awards including 2 Olivier Awards, 3 Tony Awards, and 4 Drama Desk Awards and been seen by over 35 million people worldwide.

Miss Saigon runs at Mayflower Theatre from Wednesday February 21- Saturday March 17 2018.

www.mayflower.org.uk - 02380 711811 Tickets go on sale 24 October 2016