Book, Music and Lyrics: David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson, Zoë Roberts
Director: Robert Hastie
Operation Mincemeat is based on the extraordinary real British intelligence operation in 1943, in which a stolen corpse with falsified documents was shipped off to Spain, in an audacious attempt to fool Adolf Hitler into moving his troops out of Sicily, allowing the Allied forces to successfully invade. The story itself is inherently absurd; turning it into a musical sounds positively deranged. And yet, against all odds, the result is a riotously funny and surprisingly poignant musical that proves truth really can be stranger than fiction.
The plot follows the planning and execution of Operation Mincemeat, as a small team of British intelligence officers works to construct an elaborate deception involving a fabricated identity for a stolen corpse. Led by pompous Ewen Montagu and bug-obsessed idealist Charles Cholmondeley, they must navigate wartime bureaucracy, strict secrecy, and a series of increasingly absurd challenges to pull off one of the most unlikely wartime schemes in history.
Written by David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoë Roberts, collectively known as SpitLip, the book and lyrics are packed with quick sharp humour and tightly written wordplay with music that is just as inventive. The tunes aren’t just clever, they’re undeniably catchy, and audiences will leave the theatre with earworms Making a Man and Born to Lead stuck in their heads for days to come.
The set design by Ben Stones is, for the most part, rather spare but beautifully designed and innovative, allowing seamless transition between a variety of locations – often within the same scene. He gets the chance to pull out all the stops in the show’s aptly named Glitzy Finale but unfortunately details must be kept on a “need-to-know basis”. Stones’ set also allows Mark Henderson’s clever lighting design to shine, with plenty of bright and bold colours that take us from the dark and dingy basement of MI5 to the shores of sunny Huelva, and back into seedy London nightclubs.
Robert Hastie’s confident direction keeps the production moving at a brisk pace, allowing the comedy and storytelling to land clearly, while Jenny Arnold’s choreography is crisp, imaginative, and full of character, helping to bring added personality to each moment on stage.
At this particular performance, the sound balance was a little unreliable, and some of the vocals were difficult to catch, particularly in the faster rapping moments in numbers such as God That’s Brilliant and The Ballad of Willie Watkins. In a show where the sharp lyrics are such a key strength, this was slightly unfortunate. However, with a bit of fine-tuning, this will likely smooth itself out as the show continues its run.
The ensemble cast is a complete joy to watch, executing a dizzying amount of quick-changes, character switching, and gender-swapping, with absolute aplomb! Holly Sumpton is wonderfully camp and effortlessly commanding as the arrogant and yet oddly charismatic Ewen Montagu, brilliantly bouncing off Seán Carey’s delightfully chaotic and flustered Charles Cholmondeley, who brings a nervy, unpredictable energy and the sense that everything might just fall apart at any moment. Charlotte Hanna-Williams injects warmth and some spirited girl power to proceedings as office clerk Jean Leslie, while Jamie-Rose Monk brings excellent versatility and sharp comic timing across multiple supporting roles.
However, it is Jordan Pearson who truly steals the show as MI5’s senior secretary Hester Leggatt, with plenty of withering side-eye and dryly delivered wit; but it is his powerful rendition of Dear Bill that proves the standout moment of the show – a poignant ballad that highlights the devastating, everyday heartbreak of wartime casualties, which leaves scarcely a dry eye in the house.
Beneath the whirlwind of comedic chaos lie moments of surprising emotional depth, and it’s this balance that makes the show stand out from its peers. Simultaneously a spy caper, a musical, a comedy and a historical drama, Operation Mincemeat refuses to sit neatly in one box, and that’s exactly why it works so well. It moves at a relentless pace, blends chaos with real heart, and never loses control of what it’s trying to do, it can only be described as mission accomplished.
Runs until 16 May 2026 and on tour
