Review: Operation Mincemeat at Riverside Studios, Hammersmith
Wow. At a risk of stating the obvious, it is currently hotter than several circles deep into Hell. I’m writing this with all the windows open in my house and a fan a foot away, because my east-facing office is an unbearable suntrap.
Still, a little thing like record-breaking heat will not dissuade me from enjoying theatre adventures. Especially when the show is a new musical that comes with dozens of glowing reviews… and the theatre is air-conditioned! So on Monday night, my dear friend Josh and I headed to Riverside Studios to check out Operation Mincemeat.
The Operation Mincemeat set pre-show. Photo: mine.
What’s it about?
(Please note: review will contain minor plot spoilers.)
It’s 1943 and the Nazis are winning the Second World War. Increasingly desperate, British Intelligence officers try to come up with a plan to draw Hitler’s forces out of Sicily ahead of a planned invasion. Charles Cholmondeley has a wild idea that might just work and, with the help of Ewen Montagu, gets the scheme - nicknamed “Mincemeat” - approved by Colonel Johnny Bevan.
The plan is simple: they will acquire a corpse, dress the dead man up as a British pilot, give him a plausible false identity, and make it look as though he crashed his plane and drowned at sea off the coast of (officially neutral) Spain. Attached to the body of “William ‘Bill’ Martin” will be a suitcase full of forged intelligence documents, detailing a fake plan to invade Sardinia instead of Sicily.
Despite more than a few setbacks along the way, Cholmondeley and Montagu pull out all the stops to bring their plan to fruition.
Any content notes?
Operation Mincemeat is a satirical comedy and not afraid to dwell on the more ludicrous aspects of war, the inner workings of beurocratical government agencies, and the “Mincemeat” plan itself. Even so, there are sad moments, as it’s still a war story. These are treated with the respect and sensitivity they deserve.
We see some of the institutional sexism that really played out in such government agencies at the time, with women being primarily expected to act as secretaries and tea-makers no matter what other skills and contributions they bring to the table. However, the show also acknowledges the crucial role these women actually played and emphasises that even seemingly small contributions mattered.
There is no sexual content and very little in the way of bad language.
There is some flashing strobe-style lighting, particularly in the opening scene of Act 2.
The official age guidance is that the show is suitable for ages 6+. Aspects of the plot may be difficult for younger children to follow, but there’s nothing inappropriate in the content.
Operation Mincemeat: My Review
Operation Mincemeat was devised and written by the SpitLip theatre collective: David Cumming, Natasha Hodgson, Zoë Roberts, and Felix Hagan. All the creators apart from Hagan also perform in the show, which features a cast of just five.
Each actor has one or two “main roles”, and then doubles (or triples, or quadruples) up as various other minor characters throughout. A simple change such as a hat, pair of glasses, or prop is all that’s needed to indicate a character change, along with the performers’ versatile body language and wonderfully expressive faces.
The use of gender-blind casting throughout is inspired. Natasha Hodgson is tremendously entertaining as the swaggering and pompous Ewen Montagu, absolutely convinced of his status as someone “born to lead”, while Jak Malone brings a beautiful depth of emotion to the role of Hester Leggett, the head of the secretarial team who is heavily implied to have lost a lover during the First World War. Zoë Roberts, who plays Johnny Bevan as her primary role, also does a hilarious turn as an underestimated aspiring author of spy novels you may have heard of.
Left to right: Claire-Marie Hall, Natasha Hodgson, David Cumming, Zoë Roberts, Jak Malone. Official production photo.
David Cumming plays Cholmondeley with adorably anxious energy, and Claire-Marie Hall is delightful and gets plenty of opportunities to show off her gorgeous soprano voice as the smart and plucky Jean Leslie.
One of the real strengths of this show is in its inventive, physical staging. We begin with an almost blank stage, furnished only by a set of drawers with a pilot’s hat and suitcase, and five telephones along the back wall. With just a few select set pieces and era-appropriate props, the cast do the rest to bring the magic to life.
It’s bonkers, it’s joyful, and it’s breathlessly energetic. With contemporary references (“I don’t know what’s going on!” “Welcome to the British government!”), fourth wall breaks (“Really? Whose side are you on!?”), self-referential jokes (“a much less profitable musical”), and highly memorable one-liners (“Does a newt have a penis!?”) aplenty, Operation Mincemeat isn’t just funny but laugh-out-loud hilarious.
The show’s chaotic, humorous tone also throws its serious and sad moments into even sharper relief by contrast. I did not expect this show to make me cry, but it managed to do so not once but twice. The first was Malone’s (Hester) performance of a heartbreaking ballad about writing letters to a loved one who is away at war. The second was the ending, in which the homeless man whose body became “Bill”, Glyndwr Michael, is honoured.
You might cry with laughter at this show, but you might genuinely cry too.
Comparisons of Operation Mincemeat with Hamilton are inevitable. The influence of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s mega-hit is apparent, not just in the obvious way that it’s a modern, musical take on a true story but also in the lightning-fast tunes and rap sections packed with puns, wordplay, and it-shouldn’t-work-but-it-does rhymes. Comparisons to other contemporary musicals such as Six and classic shows such as Singin’ in the Rain have also been drawn. The glitzy, satirical, over-the-top “dancing Nazis” number includes a nod to Rocky Horror (“step to the left, jump to the far right!”), while anyone familiar with The Producers will see the influence of the infamous “Springtime for Hitler” sequence.
There’s only one conclusion I can give when it comes to Operation Mincemeat: #GodThatsBrilliant! I hope we’ll be seeing a lot more of this because, if any small show deserves a tour or a West End transfer, it’s this one.
Where to get tickets
Operation Mincemeat runs until this Saturday, 23 July, at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith. Get tickets from the venue. All tickets are priced at £35 full price and £25 for concessions, which is an absolute steal for a full-length show that’s this entertaining.