We are disappointed to announce that our upcoming production of WORTH will not be coming to the Crucible in June 2023. This is due to Sheffield Theatres’ decision to produce Miss Saigon in the same period.

Miss Saigon remains a very contentious musical since its release over thirty years ago, having hurt and angered many viewers due to its highly problematic narrative and portrayal of the Vietnam War and Vietnamese people. The damaging tropes, misogyny and racism inherent in the show completely contradict New Earth and Storyhouse’s values and beliefs, where we centre stories from a BESEA perspective in order to portray a truer understanding of that experience.

We recognise concerns from our team that working alongside a musical that perpetuates deeply held notions of Asian inferiority would impact their wellbeing. Our commitment to our cast, creatives and technical staff needs to come first.

We acknowledge that there are a multitude of opinions in this conversation and would like to thank those people we have talked to already for their honesty. 

Sheffield Theatres have heard our reasons for withdrawal and we are working on a means of engaging in a wider conversation that encourages them to address their tackling of the problematic and complex issues raised by this production in a transparent way.

New Earth Theatre
Storyhouse

Read a wider statement from BEATS regarding the programming of Miss Saigon here.

Sheffield have released a response statement here.