How Miss Saigon Found Mr Right – Bristol Evening Post

The lead actors in smash hit show Miss Saigon could become Mr and Mrs Saigon after falling in love. On stage at the Bristol Hippodrome they fall in love every night – but now Ima Castro and David Shannon have been struck by Cupid’s arrow in real life. 

But unlike Kim and Chris, the ill-fated lovers the couple play in the smash-hit musical, Ima and David are hoping for a happy-ever-after ending to their relationship. 

The pair met while performing in the smash-hit musical in Manchester, but it wasn’t until the national tour arrived in Bristol that love really blossomed and they finally admitted their relationship to the rest of the cast. 

The announcement had not come as a big surprise as the company had been expecting the pair to get together all tour. 

Ima, who comes from the Philippines, said David was her first real boyfriend, which made everything even more exciting for her. 

She said: “David joined the company and I heard he liked me and was interested. 

“At first I didn’t know what to do, but then I found he was really gentle and sweet and we started seeing each other.

“We didn’t tell people straight away because we didn’t want people talking about us. 

“But now that it’s out in the open I’m really happy, because I can express my feelings and if I want to hold his hand I can.” 

David said: “It’s really lovely. 

“We did talk about whether it would be difficult working together, but it’s not. In fact, it makes the show 10 times easier. 

“The biggest problem is that we’re not meant to be in love at the beginning so we can’t be too comfortable with each other.” 

David and Ima are constantly kept on their toes by the sheer size of Miss Saigon. 

It is a massive show and the pair do not always find their time off coincides, so sometimes, instead of falling in love with each other on stage, they have to play against understudy actors. 

Ima said: “It’s fine. 

“I just have a really big kiss with someone else on stage!” 

Miss Saigon tells the story of Kim, a young Vietnamese girl, who goes to work in a Saigon strip joint and Chris, an American GI who falls in love with her.

When the U.S. evacuate Saigon more quickly than anticipated, Chris can’t get to Kim in time and has to return to America without her. 

However there is no chance of Ima and David getting split up when the Miss Saigon tour comes to a close at the end of the year.

The pair are so close that David, originally from Dublin and now based in London, is considering flying to the Philippines to live there with Ima. 

He said: “I’ve done London for nine or 10 years. 

“I’d be quite happy to move to the Philippines and live there and have a really nice life. 

“I’ve always loved the culture.” 

v.frost@bepp.co.uk