Operation Mincemeat 💼

#PRInvite #Gifted | Operation Mincemeat has arrived for its Scottish Premiere at His Majesty's Theatre, and last night's Press Night was testament to why it gets so many 5 star reviews.

Star rating: ★★★★★

Attention, Agents. Operation Mincemeat is a go - and the plan to divert Hitler’s attention from Sicily takes shape at Aberdeen Performing Arts this week. The show proudly shows off its five star reviews, admitting that it is the best reviewed new musical in West End’s history. Crafted by SpitLip, Operation Mincemeat first opened in an 80-seater studio with plans to open at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Redirected, it opened again in 2021, winning its first accolades, and transferred itself to London’s Glitzy West End in 2023. Since, it has earned awards for Best New Musical, became the longest-running show at the Golden Theatre on Broadway and a Tony Award win. Making its Scottish Premiere last night at His Majesty’s Theatre, audiences left all saying the same thing: God, it’s brilliant.

Conceived around the same time as the film of the same name, but not actually linked, both artforms represent ‘Operation Mincemeat’: a successful British World War II deception plan to hide the allied invasion of Sicily, whilst all of mainland Europe was under Adolf Hitler’s thumb. A team of MI5 agents propose a dead body, carrying fake military plans, planted as bait in German waters. It was the 28th suggestion from the agents, and though high risk, the plan could reap a high reward in saving the lives of tens of thousands of ally soldiers in Sicily from around the world. In 1943, the team within M15 decided to put the plan into action - and against the backdrop of an appalling second world war, the musical sarcastically highlights the sheer irony of a bonkers plan coming to fruition - and working.

It is obviously a true story - a remarkable one if that - which has inspired further research and correction about the real MI5 agents who hatched this plan. Operation Mincemeat encompasses the work of Britons Ewen Montagu, Charles Cholmondeley, John Bevan, Jean Leslie and Hester Leggatt. Since the musical gained its popularity, its fans - the Mincefluencers - uncovered more details about Leggatt, who was missing from official records. Realising that historical sources misspelt her name as Leggett, MI5 have since released documents confirming her identity and informed her great-great-niece who hadn’t known about her contribution to the mission. In 2023, a plaque commemorating Leggatt was installed at the show’s West End home. It’s information like this that makes me value pieces of theatre that much more: thanks to the musical Operation Mincemeat, important figures from our history are no longer erased - and it makes it even more powerful to reinstate the work and official records of a woman who played a vital role in the deception plan.

The show’s book, music and lyrics were developed by David Cumming, Natasha Hodgson, Felix Hagan and Zoë Roberts - four members of SpitLip, and this is their first musical. Taking inspiration from 1940s swing and jazz, the score is complex and wordy, but it absolutely soars. Possibly due to settling into a new venue for their first performance last night, the band were particularly quiet to begin with, and therefore the sound overall, lead by Mike Walker, was a huge disservice to the punch and vibrancy I’m used to on the Original Cast Album. 

The score contains new songs such as ‘God That’s Brilliant’, ‘Making a Man’ and the memorable ‘Sail On, Boys’. The book is equally as charming: loaded with dialogue to laugh at, matched with highly poignant moments where the emotion within the room became palpable. 

Some were born to follow, but they were Born to Lead: the touring cast of Operation Mincemeat are absolutely outstanding. It’s really an ensemble piece, composed of five actors who are multiroling. Holly Sumpton leads the way as the arrogant Ewen Montagu & others, delivering the best vocal performance of the evening. Seán Carey is Charles Cholmondeley & others, who masterfully crafts the plan, delivered with sheer awkwardness and social anxiety.

Christian Andrews is Hester Leggatt & others. The extended applause for Andrews following ‘Dear Bill’ was an intimate moment to enjoy, confirming that this role is the very beating heart in the show. Delivered with care and attention, Hester Leggatt’s legacy is very powerfully restored.

Jamie-Rose Monk is brilliant as Johnny Bevan & others. Monk’s constant facial expressions and comedic timing is first class. Charlotte Hanna-Williams is Jean Leslie & others, and whilst her acting performance was authentic and meaningful, her delivery of the energetic ‘All the Ladies’ required more support from sound.

The cast are supported by Katy Ellis, Georgina Hagen, Jordan Pearson and Morgan Phillips as alternates.

Due to the multiroling nature of the piece, Operation Mincemeat is overtly gender neutral. Cleverly costumed by Ben Stones, each character has a distinct look which is immediately recognisable, despite not being a far departure from the others they play. At no point do the women look like men, or men look like women, but it doesn’t matter. The portrayal of these characters relies on the strengths of each actor reshaping their posture, accent, walking style and beyond, complemented by the subtle costume changes. It’s extremely effective, and never questioned.

Originally directed by Robert Hastie, Operation Mincemeat is testament to ‘a genius man’ - those who have seen the show should note that this is spelled correctly! Supplemented by choreography by Jenny Arnold, the show is physically demanding, constantly offering audiences something to look for. Whilst the piece is a new musical, it also feels so traditionally musical theatre, combining new forms of storytelling through LED lighting and projections with period piece trickery which create a very exciting and refreshing combination. 

The multiroling nature of the show takes similarities from Come From Away, but it actually feels more drastic and impressive in Operation Mincemeat. The Act 1 finale, in particular, is mesmerising, seamlessly flickering between bars and clubs, to the open sea where the deception plan goes wrong. It’s theatre at its finest.

Naturally, there’s usually something I didn’t love, which was its lack of continuity in direction style. The second half is a far departure from Act 1 where the show relies on hidden technology too much, which felt jarring considering it never used in the first half. I really loved how resourceful the set pieces were, and I also enjoyed the brief moments of statement pieces. But, considering the show as a whole, it began to feel inconsistent: an attempt to impress audiences with meaningless flair - despite already having us on side. This is not to suggest that the very Glitzy Finale fever dream wasn’t a show highlight, though. I almost felt that the show would be at its best as a 100 minute, one act show which would preserve its slick and tight direction, and refuse the opportunity to get carried away with gadgets and gimmicks.

Mark Henderson’s lighting design was particularly appealing, bringing a rather dark set to life through the use of pastel colours, LED frames and revolving spots in blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments. 

Operation Mincemeat is taking the world by storm, and it's obvious why. Though it didn’t feel as tight as I expected, it's clear to see why it gained all of its five star reviews - because the experience is brilliant. So I’m adding one more to their list!

Credits

Instagram links: @theatregramuk, @aberdeenperformingarts, @mincemeatlive

Review by Joel Simpson cc: theatregram@gmail.com

Production photos supplied by Aberdeen Performing Arts