This much-hyped musical about a World War II plan to misdirect Nazi forces from one Italian island to another is one of the funniest and most joyful things you’ll watch this year.
There’s always a flicker of scepticism when a show arrives trailing a blizzard of five star reviews. In the case of Operation Mincemeat, that scepticism lasts about ten seconds. From the opening beat, it becomes clear the accolades are well earned. This is a relentlessly inventive, laugh out loud musical that combines razor sharp comic timing with astonishing performances from its exemplary cast of five, who play multiple characters of both sexes.
Based on the true World War II deception operation designed to convince the Nazis that Allied forces would invade Sardinia rather than Sicily, the show follows the improbable plan dreamed up by eccentric intelligence officer Charles Cholmondeley (Sean Carey) and championed by the supremely confident Etonian Ewen Montagu (Holly Sumpton). Whether the operation succeeds – and whether the team are actually all pulling in the same direction – provides the narrative spine, but the plot is secondary to the incredible feats the cast pull off in delivering rapid-fire lyrical precision, pinpoint comic timing and about a zillion costume changes.
All five performers juggle multiple roles, often switching characters in seconds with nothing more than a hat, a posture change or a quick turn of the body. It’s theatrical sleight of hand, executed with such precision that the audience begins to watch for the mechanics as much as the payoff. One particularly slick on stage swap even earned a spontaneous round of applause, it was that slick.
The script is packed with throwaway lines that land perfectly. Montagu’s swaggering confidence, declaring to the more reserved Cholmondeley, “You bring the brains, I’ll bring literally everything else,” had me laughing out loud, while Christian Andrews as MI5 secretary Hester Leggatt regularly drew belly laughs from as little as a turn of the head or a wry smile, so skilful was his understanding of her character. The humour is constant, but never exhausting, because it’s paired with inventive staging and a score that shifts effortlessly between period pastiche and modern musical theatre.
Musically, the show nods to wartime swing and revue styles, but also throws in fast paced, word heavy sections that feel almost Hamilton-esque, but delivered with a plum in the mouth.
Amid the relentless comic action, there’s also a moment of genuine stillness. The song Dear Bill, delivered by Andrews as Leggatt, lands as the emotional heart of the evening. Framed as a letter to a fictional fiancé, it quietly reveals an unspoken past love and loss, offering a poignant contrast to the surrounding chaos. In a show that races along at breakneck speed, it’s a rare pause that gives the audience space to reflect.
Operation Mincemeat is clever, fast and genuinely funny, but more than that, it’s a masterclass in what can be achieved with minimal staging and maximum creativity. Five performers, a handful of props and an abundance of imagination combine to produce one of the most entertaining nights currently on stage. The five star hype, it turns out, isn’t hype at all.
Five stars.
Operation Mincemeat runs at The Lyceum theatre until 25 April. Tickets are available here.
