ON the mirror of Kim’s dressing table, above a dog-eared picture of Elvis and some faded newspaper cuttings, are the words “I Am Beautiful” in Vietnamese, written in red lipstick. It was a personal touch by set designer Totie Driver, inspired by what her mother told her as a child, and is one of the many extraordinary, intricate details that make up the epic Miss Saigon.

The smash hit Olivier and Tony award-winning show, a tragic love story set against the Vietnam War, is mid-way through a month at the Alhambra, the only Yorkshire date on its UK tour.

With a cast of 38, a 15-strong orchestra, a technical team of 32, and a three ton helicopter, Cameron Mackintosh’s spectacular production is one of the world’s largest touring shows. It takes more than 100 people to transfer it, and 16 45-foot trailers take it all on the road. The set is so huge it’s already being laid in one theatre while other trailers are still being packed up to leave the previous venue...

“It’s a massive undertaking to move it around the country,” says company manager Neil White. “The set was originally designed for London, then Cameron added more for the Broadway revival. This is no pale imitation - it's the Broadway version."

Adds Neil: “We have been planning its arrival here for 18 months. We made numerous site visits to the Alhambra, everyone from the set designer to the choreographer came along so we could prepare for the venue. This isn’t just a stop on the tour - it’s the ‘Bradford Season’ of Miss Saigon.”

Setting up began at 8am the Sunday before opening night the following Wednesday. The backstage crew worked around the clock to get everything ready for a midday dress rehearsal on the Wednesday. The company brought their own stage floor, laying the framework overnight, and installed surround sound. There are 65 speakers on stage, in the pit and overheard. In the production’s spectacular showstopper scene, speakers on the helicopter create the audio effect of it in flight. The helicopter, which rises higher than a double-decker bus, weighs more than a real ‘Huey’ helicopter used in Vietnam.

There are 1,437 lighting and video cues in the show, some triggered by sound effects. Of the 16 smoke machines and 12 fans creating the show’s atmosphere, six come through tiny holes in the floor, allowing haze to appear in accurate places.

Lighting operators, in harnesses, climb into the proscenium, specially built for the Alhambra season. “They’re incredibly busy, with over 580 different cues to follow the cast around,” says Neil. “Some cues are so subtle it’s hard to even know how they’re being lit - not an easy thing to achieve!”

Everywhere I look around the stage, and behind it, are props and costumes. There are 600 props used in the show, and each one has to be accounted for, by assistant stage managers using a check sheet, before every performance. It’s like being on a film set. There’s the mighty helicopter, and behind a curtain there's a rickshaw. The Cadillac used in the American Dream routine is half-hidden in the darkness. “The car is an optical illusion,” says Neil. “It lifts at the back to make it look bigger.”

Boxes and shelves are filled with props - bank notes, GIs’ cigarette packets, hustler cards, plastic food, chopsticks, fans, cameras, beer bottles. “Everything has its place," says Neil. "Every inch of space is taken up. We’ve also got equipment stored in the Studio theatre.”

On the Dreamland bar, central to the lively opening scene, are beer cans and a collage of vintage magazine pictures. Lanterns hang above, and an Acer tree rises from behind the bar. They are details the audience may not notice, but they create a sense of authenticity for the actors.

The cast comprises 10 nationalities, including Filipino, Thai, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Dutch and Malaysian. Each cast member’s name is above their row of costumes, hanging on long rails behind the stage. The GI uniforms were real, worn in military service in Vietnam, and the body armour worn by Ashley Gilmour, playing Chris, the GI who falls for Kim, has a bullet hole in it. The helmets and flak jackets are heavy, and must be a challenge for performing in the heat and energy of such a busy show beneath stage lighting. “The first thing the boys do in rehearsal is put their boots on; they have to get used to moving in them,” says Neil.

While the audience are watching the action unfold on stage, there’s a flurry of costume changes just a few feet away. Each of the female ensemble has 16 changes, and Sooha Kim, who stars as Kim and plays her in flashback scenes, has the quickest turnaround, with nine different hairstyles throughout each performance. ‘Team Kim’ is on hand to help her get changed between scenes. I'm amazed to discover that Sooha, who’s from South Korea, didn’t speak English until four years ago, when she landed the role of Kim - then when she toured in Japan she learned Japanese too.

There are five wardrobe staff, five wig specialists and 10 local dressers. With eight hours of laundry required each day (over 100 loads a week), the team takes on tour several washing machines, tumble driers, steam irons and hot drying cabinets. Ongoing repair work includes sewing beads and buttons onto costumes. There’s a kilo of beads on each ‘American Dream’ bikini.

There are over 200 pairs of shoes (all the women’s shoes are handmade for them), and 60 wigs, made from real hair. The show’s straw hats are all from Vietnam and Thailand.

He may only be in a few scenes, but Kim’s little son, Tam, is a significant part of Miss Saigon and is played by 11 youngsters, aged four to six. “They only know the scenes they’re in, not the whole context, and they’re shielded by Kim on stage so they don’t see everything that’s going on around them,” says Neil. “The ‘Tams’ have the best dressing-room, full of games and toys!”

The adult cast do vocal and physical warm-ups an hour before each show and the company includes a touring physiotherapist. As we leave, acrobats from the Morning of the Dragon scene are limbering up for a rehearsal.

Music plays a central role in Miss Saigon, with much of the dialogue coming from the songs, and the orchestra is integral to the company. Instruments include eight Asian flutes, (Dizi), which only play when Kim is on stage, and act as her character within the orchestra. There are 77 different percussion instruments, including skull drums, ankle bells, singing bowls, Thai chap cymbals and kabuki blocks.

"Taking an orchestra of this size on tour is a huge thing," says Neil, who is at home at the Alhambra. Originally from Cullingworth, he saw his first panto here - “Goldilocks and the Three Bears in 1976,” he recalls - and worked on his first show, Aladdin, here 30 years ago.

As a child, he was in shows with Bingley Amateurs, and helped out backstage with lighting and scenery, and while at Bingley Grammar School, he did work experience at the Alhambra.

Aged 16, he joined the National Youth Theatre and went on to work as a designer and stage manager. Today, as the company manager with some of the country’s biggest touring productions, he works around the world.

“I always wanted to work in theatre. I love the challenge, and I get to work with the most incredible people,” says Neil. “When I did panto here, Miss Saigon had just opened. I never dreamed I’d one day be working on it.

“A life in theatre often means working 10 or12 hours a day, six days a week, but it’s so rewarding. I’ve seen lots of changes in Bradford over the years, and the Alhambra has continued to bring people into the city.

“People look at theatre prices and say it’s a lot of money, but when you see what goes into staging a production of this size in Bradford, it’s worth it.”

* Miss Saigon runs at the Alhambra until Saturday, October 20.