In 1973 the allies were losing the war and MI5 were called in to make a fiendish plan drawn up by a scientist, Charles Cholmondeley (Sean Carey) to capture Sicily . How could they get Hitler’s army to vacate the island?
The plan was outlined to the spooks. Could it work? Would it work? MI5 boffins think it can. There’d need to be a lot of paperwork, backstory and intrigue but it was doable. Just one problem …. They need a corpse! But wait there’s more intrigue and this time it’s within the MI5 team. Is someone passing secrets to the Russians?
The intrigue and subterfuge were underway. Who would have thought that you could make such a dark, yet true subject into musical comedy but they did.
Operation Mincemeat rightly won the Olivier Award for ‘Best New Musical’ and ‘Best Supporting Actor’ at the Tony’s alongside many other gongs on its journey. The show developed in a small studio progressed to Southwark then ultimately to the West End and Broadway.
In short it’s a triumph, full of madcap antics, dance routines and songs. All delivered, impeccably, at breakneck speed by this remarkable ensemble cast.
The adaptable set and costumes, designed by Ben Stones, were perfectly pitched to create the atmosphere of the times.
Although it’s a hilarious roller coaster there are moments that brought a tear to my eye, particularly when Hester Leggatt (Christian Andrews) sings ‘Dear Bill’ whilst helping to compose a letter to our dead pilot from his fiancée. It is a heartbreaking moment in the midst of the hilarity.
Despite the utter brilliance of the whole cast it is Andrews who stands out in his many roles for me. His coroner was deliciously sleazy and underhand. The scarlet glitter ‘blood’ and top hat were a genius move from Ben Jones.
The second half opener, ‘Das Ubermensch’, a hip hop, breakdance number a la Hamilton and choreographed by Jenny Arnold brought the house down. Singing dancing Nazis? Funny? Surely not? Oh yes!
A round of applause goes to director Robert Hastie for his skilful pulling together of the many elements and making it appear seamless.
The last applause goes to SplitLip who took this amazing story, make a musical about it, open in the West End, reach Broadway and now tours the world. Even the team themselves thought it was impossible. However David Cumming, Felix Hagen, Natascha Hodgson and Zoe Roberts achieved just that.
One man we should not forget is Glyndwr Michael, the homeless man who died after consuming rat poison, whose body became William Martin. He was buried with full military honours in Spain as William Martin. When his true identity was uncovered in 1996 they War Graves Commission added his real name to the gravestone. In his home town the Aberbargoed War Memorial bears a plaque with the inscription “Y Dyn Na Fu Erioed”, which translates to “The Man Who Never Was”.
I would loike to take everyone I have ever known to this show as I’d love to see it all over, and over again. It was just the best night out and the surrounding audience clearly agreed with me. It’s on until Saturday night so do pop along. As one line from the show says, there are “small flashes of joy” when the world is in a mess. This is a huge explosion of joy.
CAST MEMBERS
Christian Andrews
Sean Carey
Jamie-Rose Monk
Charlotte Hanna-WIlliams
Holly Sumpton
Dates: Monday 25th – Saturday 30 May 2026. The production runs for 2 hours 20 minutes (including interval), with evening performances Monday to Saturday and matinees on Thursday and Saturday.
Venue: Theatre Royal, Brighton, New Road, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 1SD.
Tickets: From £28.95 upwards available online or via the Theatre Royal, Brighton box office.
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The song about the letter is called ‘Dear Bill’.
Thanks Clare. I’ll amend that