Operation Mincemeat

A CONCORD THEATRICALS TITLE

Notify Me When Available

Concord Theatricals

Notify Me When Available

Cast Size

5any gender (adult)
Duration

More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
Target Audience

Adult

Accolades

Winner! 2024 Olivier Award for Best New Musical
Winner! WhatsOnStage Award for Best New Musical
Winner! The Stage Debut Award for Best Composer/Lyricist
Winner! Off-West End Award for Best Musical Production

Details

Summary

The year is 1943 and we’re losing the war. Luckily, we’re about to gamble all our futures on a stolen corpse.

Operation Mincemeat is the fast-paced, hilarious and unbelievable true story of the twisted secret mission that won the Allies World War II. The question is, how did a well-dressed corpse wrong-foot Hitler?

History

After premiering in 2019, with London stagings at the New Diorama Theatre (2019), Southwark Playhouse (2020, ’21 and ’22) and Riverside Studios (2022), Operation Mincemeat made its West End premiere at the Fortune Theatre on 29 March 2023.

Cast Attributes

Keywords

Performing Groups

The show is written to be performed by a cast of five, each taking one of the following central roles:

CHARLES CHOLMONDELEY (M, 24)
EWEN MONTAGU (M, 30)
JEAN LESLIE (W, 20)
JOHNNY BEVAN (M, 48)
HESTER LEGGETT (W, 45)

And multi-roling the rest of the characters as deemed fit.

The only rules are: EWEN MONTAGU must be played by a woman. HESTER LEGGETT must be played by a man. The gender swapping should not be pointed, exaggerated or even acknowledged. It should simply be part of the fabric of the show. It’s just more fun that way.

Time Period 1940s/WWII
Setting The offices of MI5 and other locations. 1943.
Features Period Costumes
Duration More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
Cautions
- Strong Language
- Mild Adult Themes

Media

★★★★★ “[A] masterclass of macabre musical comedy.” – The Stage

67 five-star reviews... and counting!

“Laughing so hard I could barely breathe is not what I expected for a musical about a World War II top-secret plan.” – The Sun

“Glows with theatrical invention and delivers laughs by the gallon… unmissable.” – WhatsOnStage

“Pure theatrical serotonin.” – Metro

“Unfortunately, five stars is the limit. I would happily give many more.” – Broadway Baby

“A gloriously inventive wartime romp.” – The Times

“My far-and-away favorite production.” – The New Yorker

“A Pythonesque wartime romp that doesn’t shortchange the intellect.” – The Daily Telegraph

“Its whip-crack rhymes are fast and funny… the script is well-seasoned with smart, silly asides.” – Time Out

“A finely varied score, and lyrics that shame most big musicals by their dexterousness and ingenuity.” – The Observer

Videos

Operation Mincemeat – 2023 Trailer
Operation Mincemeat – West End LIVE 2023

Photos

Image: 2023 West End Production (Matt Crockett)

Image: 2023 West End Production (Matt Crockett)

Image: 2023 West End Production (Matt Crockett)

Image: 2023 West End Production (Matt Crockett)

Image: 2023 West End Production (Matt Crockett)

Image: 2023 West End Production (Matt Crockett)

Image: 2023 West End Production (Matt Crockett)

Image: 2023 West End Production (Matt Crockett)

Show more +

Music

Act I

“Born to Lead” – Montagu & Company
“God That’s Brilliant” – Company
“Dead in the Water” – Cholmondeley
“Dead in the Water (Reprise)” – Cholmondeley
“All the Ladies” – Jean & Company
“The Pitch” – Montagu, Cholmondeley & Jean
“Born to Lead (Reprise)” – Montagu, Cholmondeley & Jean
“Making a Man” – Company
“Love is a Bird” – Cholmondeley & Jean
“Dear Bill” – Hester
“Sail on, Boys” – Company
“Just for Tonight” – Montagu & Company

Act II

“Das Übermensch” – Company
“Bevan’s Update” – Bevan, Cholmondeley & Montagu
“The Ballad of Willie Watkins” – Willie & Company
“Spilsbury Reprise” – Spilsbury & Company
“I Call Abort” – Bevan
“Haselden’s Got a Good Feeling” – Haselden & Cholmondeley
“Useful” – Jean & Hester
“Act as If” – Company
“Finale” – Company

Keyboard 1-Conductor
Keyboard 2
Bass – Electric, Synth Bass
Drums

Licensing & Materials

Add-Ons

Take a look below at how you can enhance your show!

Ticketing

Authors

Natasha Hodgson

Natasha Hodgson is an award-winning writer, actor, comedian and singer. She is Co-Artistic Director of SpitLip and one part of the award-winning dark comedy troupe Kill the Beast. As well as her theatre work, Natasha created and starred in her own critically acclaimed BBC Sou ...

View full profile

Zoë Roberts

Zoë Roberts is Co-Artistic Director of both SpitLip and Kill the Beast comedy collective, and has been making stupid, award-winning stuff for over a decade. Her theatre credits include: co-writer of Operation Mincemeat (New Diorama Theatre, Southwark Playhouse & Riverside Stu ...

View full profile

David Cumming

David Cumming is Co-Artistic Director of SpitLip and comedy-horror troupe Kill the Beast – and a freelance theatre-maker/musician in his own right. He works as an actor, writer, director and composer, smashing comedy, drama and music together to create award-winning shows tha ...

View full profile

Felix Hagan

Felix Hagan is Co-Artistic Director of SpitLip, and a freelance composer and performer in a multitude of different acts and guises. Felix specializes in fusing music and lyrics with vast amounts of excitement and joy, drawing inspiration from classic musical theatre, preposte ...

View full profile

Operation Mincemeat