Operation Mincemeat

Salutes all round for British humour at its best in an unbelievable true story about World War II with a dash of musical magic thrown in too.

In 1943, MI5 came up with a bizarre deception plan to trick Nazi Germany into believing that the Allies planned to invade Greece and Sardinia, instead of the actual target, Sicily.

Dubbed Operation Mincemeat, the British used the body of a dead man, dressed him as Royal Marine officer, Captain William Martin and gave him a fabricated backstory.

Fake top secret documents and a poignant love letter signed Hester was planted in his coat pocket and his body was dropped off the coast of Spain, knowing local officers would pass the make believe intelligence to the German spies.

Incredibly the plan worked, with Hitler misled, saving thousands of Allies lives, with credit going to MI5 masterminds Ewen Montagu and Charles Cholmondeley, along with future James Bond writer, Ian Fleming who worked in British intelligence and helped brainstorm the ideas.

The amazing story has been given comic licence, satire and theatrical flair and presented as Operation Mincemeat the musical. And it’s fast paced and hilarious, drawing a standing ovation from the audience at Theatre Royal Glasgow, where it has stopped off as part of its lengthy UK tour.

Written by musical comedy troupe, SpitLip, made up of David Cumming, Natasha Hodgson, Felix Hagan and Zoë Roberts, it’s a piece of brilliance, with intrigue, wit and great songs throughout.

Director Robert Hastie has the whole performance off to a tee but then he has an incredibly talented cast, which swops genders and roles with aplomb.

The five, Holly Sumpton (Ewan Montagu), Seán Carey (Charles Cholmondeley), Charlotte Hanna-Williams (Jean Leslie), Christian Andrews (Hester Leggatt) and Jamie-Rose Monk (Johnny Bevan) have all starred in the West End version of the show, so they know the plot off by heart and obviously love every minute on stage.

And who wouldn’t, with great one-liners, fabulous songs and an amazing set and costumes from Ben Stones which adds to the razzle, dazzle of an absolute belter of a show!

Operation Mincemeat plays at Theatre Royal Glasgow until 14^th November, before moving to the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton from 17^th to 21^st November and The Hawth, Crawley from 23^rd to 28^th November 2026.

It then kicks off the new year at Orchard Theatre, Dartford from 23^rd to 27^th February 2027, then the Milton Keyes Theatre from 2^nd to 6^th March, Theatre Royal, Bath from 9^th to 20^th March, Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham from 23 March to 3rd April,  Empire Theatre, Sunderland from 6^th to 10^th April, Hippodrome, Darlington from 20^th to 24^th April, Theatre Royal, Brighton from 27^th April to 1^st May, Theatre Royal, Plymouth from 4^th to 8^th May, Lowry, Salford from 11^th to 29^th May, Hall for Cornwall, Truro from 1^st to 5^th June, Kings Theatre, Portsmouth from 8^th to 12^th June, Grand Theatre, Blackpool from 15^th to 19^th June.

The show then returns to Scotland, playing at Eden Court, Inverness from 22^nd to 26^th June, King’s Theatre, Edinburgh from 29^th June to 3^rd July, Theatre Royal Glasgow from 6^th to 10^th July, New Theatre, Oxford from 13^th to 17^th July, Waterside Theatre, Aylesbury from 20^th to 24^th July, Theatre Royal, Nottingham from 27^th to 31^st July, Grand Theatre, Leeds from 3^rd to 7^th August, Grand Opera House, Belfast from 10^th to 14^th August, Bord Gais Energy Theatre, Dublin from 17^th to 21^st August, The Alexandria, Birmingham from 24^th August to 4^th September, New Theatre, Cardiff from 14^th to 18^th September, Woking Theatre from 21^st to 25^th September, Grand Opera House, York from 28^th September to 2^nd October, Empire Theatre, Liverpool from 5^th to 9^th October, Belgrade Theatre, Coventry from 12^th to 16^th October, Curve Theatre, Leicester from 19^th to 23^rd October, Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield from 26^th to 30^th October, Arts Theatre, Cambridge from 2^nd to 6^th November, Alhambra Theatre, Bradford from 9^th to 13^th November before rounding off the year and UK tour at the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton from 16^th to 20^th November 2027.

For more information on tour dates, performance times and ticket availability, please visit: www.operationmincemeat.com and www.atgtickets.com.

Author Bio:

Rebecca Hay is an experienced travel writer and member of The British Guild of Travel Writers. Follow her adventures with her family on Twitter and Instagram @emojiadventurer and on Facebook via EmojiAdventurers2.

Photographs by Matt Crockett