A QUICK WORD WITH ABIGAIL ADRIANO

The Miss Saigon ead talks Filipino home cooking, sidelining a career in law, and carrying ona cultural legacy.

- CHARLOTTE WISHART

Before I was born, my mum and her family moved from a small village in the Philippines that’s really well regarded for their food, so I grew up totally obsessed with Filipino food. My all-time favourite dish cooked by them from their village is called sinigang, which is a really sour soup. It’s just so good. I loved it in childhood and still now, not only because it’s delicious, but because it reminds me of home. My mum was so sweet, because she knew how nervous I was on the first day of Miss Saigon rehearsals, that she actually packed me sinigang for my lunch. On set, everyone is so much more experienced than I am, so having that little piece of home and comfort on that first day was important to me.

I have a really big extended family, and I live next to my grandma, auntie and cousins, so someone is always cooking. As soon as you walk through the door at home, you’re hit with a strong aroma, and you know food’s not far away. Playing Kim in Miss Saigon can be so emotionally heavy at times, that coming home to the din of my family and the smell of home cooking is such a comfort; it brings so much warmth and light back into my day. Food has always been a comfort in our family, and a way for us to come together and connect.