A little piece of history connects Oxford’s George Street and the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific. In 1959, the ABC Ritz Cinema (now Odeon, George Street) proudly announced the showing of South Pacific: “for the first time in breathtaking Todd-AO!” Some £25,000 had been spent on the necessary alterations to show the film on a giant, 50ft-wide screen, a large sum at the time.

Now the latest stage version of the show arrives just up the street at the New Theatre.

It began life at New York’s Lincoln Center Theatre, transferred to Broadway for a two-year, award-winning run, then crossed the pond to London. Although now slimmed down a bit, like the film the emphasis is on size — with a 50-strong cast and orchestra, the production remains considerably larger than the average touring musical.

Transferring across the Atlantic with the show is Loretta Ables Sayre, who plays Bloody Mary. She makes her first entrance in spectacular fashion: she’s carried on at head height by four beefy sailors.

“That’s difficult, isn’t it!” Loretta laughed as I asked her how many times she’d had that no doubt delightful experience.

“Actually not quite enough! I did over a thousand performances in New York, and we’re now probably very close to two thousand overall.”

South Pacific combines two Second World War love stories. The first concerns the love of American Lieutenant Cable for Bloody Mary’s Polynesian daughter, the second has navy nurse Nellie Forbush (played by Samantha Womack) falling for mysterious French planter Emile de Becque — a role split in Oxford between Paulo Szot and Welsh National Opera baritone Jason Howard.

“I’ve been told I bring a harder edge to the role than some people,” Jason explained. “He’s a mixture of the animal and the aristocrat. He stood up for something he thought was right when he was young, and it changed the rest of his life. He’s a very multi-faceted character.”

“And very sexy,” Loretta added.

But South Pacific has a serious side as well as being packed with sunny and romantic numbers such as I’m Going to Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair, Some Enchanted Evening, and Happy Talk. For instance, it tackles racial prejudice head on.

“In some American cities there was almost an intake of breath when you mentioned the word ‘coloured’, particularly when we were further south,” Jason said.

“For Americans, before they started using the phrase ‘the n-word’ there was the ‘c-word’, Loretta added.

“It was such a derogatory expression to use towards people. In our society now, we look back and we’re so ashamed to hear it, it still takes our breath away.”

In all her many South Pacific performances, I asked Loretta, was there any particular occasion that sticks out in her memory?

“In New York, I remember running on stage for Happy Talk. One time, the girl who was playing my daughter ran up the stage ready to leap into Lieutenant Cable’s arms. But he didn’t place himself correctly, and the two of them went smash on to the floor.

“That was shocking in itself, but they were both laughing so hard that neither of them could get into focus. I ended up having to pull both of them up off the floor. I don’t know how we got through that scene!”

  • South Pacific runs at the New Theatre, Oxford, from December 6-31. Tickets: 0844 871 3020 or www.atgtickets.com/oxford