Operation Mincemeat Is An Absolute Joy

There is an old saying that truth is stranger than fiction, and, if anything proves this to be true, it is the incredible story of Operation Mincemeat. Changing the course of a World War by planting fake invasion plans for Sardinia on the body of a fake airman, then dumping both on the beach of neutral Spain in the hope it will get to the eyes of Hitler no less, sounds fantastical and absurd, but this is exactly what happened during World War 2. The story was retold in a 1950’s film, ‘The man who never was’, but even those with the most warped sense of humour wouldn’t think this would be a perfect topic for a musical. And yet, this is the most original, hilarious, poignant and audacious musical you will see this year. It is just incredible and outlandish, an absolute one off.

The whole story of Operation Mincemeat is performed by a brilliant ensemble cast of 5. Christian Andrews, Sean Carey, Jamie-Rose Monk, Charlotte Hanna-Williams and Holly Sumpton play all the roles, both male and female, and it is a credit to them that each character is so well defined, even when the only change may be the addition of a pair of glasses. The characters they portray are real people, which only adds to the fantastic nature of the whole story, we even get pre James Bond Ian Fleming working at MI5, with his amazing mind boggling ideas for inventions to take down Hitler (which sound very, very familiar).

The dialogue is snappy, it comes thick and fast like a screwball comedy from the 30’s and 40’s, you really have to listen so you don’t miss a funny one liner. The musical numbers range from jazz style standards and classic musical theatre numbers like ‘Spilsbury‘, to a Beyonce style routine for ‘All the Ladies’. The high point though, is the poignant ‘Dear Bill’, which cuts through the comedy to show the reality of the fear of losing someone you love in war, whilst trying to keep some semblance of normality in your letters to them. It is absolutely sublime, and was performed with real subtle heartbreak by Christian Andrews as Hester.

Operation Mincemeat is just dazzling, unmissable theatre. Can I give it six stars?

Operation Mincemeat

18-21st March

Click here for ticket information

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