Operation Mincemeat | Concord Theatricals (original) (raw)
A CONCORD THEATRICALS TITLE
- Cast Size
Cast Size
5any gender (adult)
- Duration
Duration
More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
- Audience
Target Audience
Adult
Accolades
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 March 29, 2023.
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 Period1940s/WWII
- SettingThe offices of MI5 and other locations. 1943.
- FeaturesPeriod Costumes
- DurationMore 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)
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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
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Authors
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...