Feline Andersson began the day by tumbling down from a narrow, red staircase on stage.
Tim bandaged me, she says and shows a bandaged foot and a bruised thigh.
Timothy Garnham plays Chris, the American soldier who during the last trembling days of the Vietnam War becomes head over heels in love with the Vietnamese Kim.
"Never chose it"
But when he stands on a balcony in front of a misty backdrop and in emotional "Why, God, why?" asks himself how he ended up there, it is much different from the 1989 original version.
We learn that Chris actually was drafted into the military, he never chose to be there. We also build a significant element of PTSD that he struggles with, says director Guy Unsworth.
In addition, Kim - and the other prostitutes at the bar "Dreamland" - have clearer background stories.
In other productions, they have almost no clothes on, which is not consistent with reality, says Timothy Garnham.
Controversial musical
"Miss Saigon" is a story marked by war, sex trade, and colonial structures. Previous versions have been criticized for reproducing stereotypes and have been surrounded by controversy - not least because Asian roles have sometimes been played by white actors in makeup.
Even in Sweden, many versions have been set up where it has not been Asian people playing Asian roles, says Feline Andersson.
She was 13 years old when she first saw "Miss Saigon" - and for the first time met a main character who resembled herself. Something ignited inside.
To now stand on stage with colleagues recruited from, among other places, the United Kingdom and Norway to get a fair representation is important.
It means a lot, both for the sake of history but also for our hearts.
"Wanted to embrace complexity"
The actors have listened to lectures about the war and consultants from Vietnam have been brought in.
I hope the performance deals with its complexity and does not back down from it, says Guy Unsworth.
Are you afraid that someone will think you have made the musical too politically correct?
No, not at all. We wanted to embrace its complexity, not sanitize it. The danger can be that you remove all danger - but we really wanted to understand why this story is so extraordinary, he says.
"Miss Saigon" is a modern interpretation of Puccini's classic opera "Madame Butterfly". It is written by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil and premiered in 1989.
The version that is being set up at the Gothenburg Opera, directed by Guy Unsworth, premiered at the Folketeateret in Oslo in 2023.
The cast includes, among others, Feline Andersson as Kim, Timothy Garnham as Chris, and Eu Jin Hwang as Engineer.
"Miss Saigon" premieres at the Gothenburg Opera on Saturday, September 27.
