Operation Mincemeat: A musical mission accomplished

In the magical world of musical theatre, few productions have managed to perfectly blend history, comedy, and sharp wit as successfully as Operation Mincemeat. With an outstanding script, catchy songs, and talented ensemble cast, this show fantastically tells the true story of a relatively obscure World War II deception operation, whilst also giving its audience a high-energy theatrical experience.

Before I get into my review, let me set the scene for those of you who may not know what ‘Operation Mincemeat’ was:

England. 1943. World War II. The British are faced with a problem, a very big one to be exact. The Germans are dominating Sicily, heavily defending it from the Allies. The Brits desperately need something to mislead the Axis powers, particularly Nazi Germany, about their planned invasion of Southern Europe. ‘Operation Mincemeat’ was the successful British deception operation that solved this very big problem.

Operation Mincemeat isn’t your typical war story musical.

The main goal was to convince the Germans that the Allies were planning to invade Sardinia, rather than the actual target, Sicily. The operation itself involved planting false documents on a corpse dressed as a British Officer, which was set to wash up on the coast of Spain. From there, the British hoped the documents would fall into the hands of German spies. The documents included fake letters discussing plans for an invasion of Sardinia, and when the body was discovered by Spanish authorities, these letters were successfully passed over to German intelligence. To the Brits’ delight, the Germans believed the information, leading them to divert troops to Sardinia, thus weakening their defences in Sicily, which the Allies successfully invaded in July 1943.

‘Operation Mincemeat’ is considered one of the most successful deception operations of the war; the full effect of it is not known, but Sicily was liberated more quickly than anticipated, and losses were lower than predicted. “So how can this be turned into a musical?” I hear you ask. Let me explain.

The highlight of this show for me was the music. The cleverness and wit that went into the writing breathes an entirely new life into a historical event that changed the course of the war.

Operation Mincemeat isn’t your typical war story musical. It all started with a group of comedy writers that met at university and decided that, in order to be commercially recognised, they needed to write a musical. The cast consists of only five actors, but between them, they play roughly 50 characters throughout the show. They are required to effortlessly swap between these roles, both onstage and offstage, in order to keep the story rolling. The props and the costumes perfectly helped accentuate what they were doing, and who they were playing – even just putting on a different hat completely transformed the actors into an entirely different character. With just a slightly different accent, and a small change in body language, the five actors on stage truly convinced me that there were 50 different people playing these roles. The talent was out of this world!

The highlight of this show for me was the music. The cleverness and wit that went into the writing breathes an entirely new life into a historical event that changed the course of the war. All of the songs proved that even the most serious moments in history can be told with a playful twist. There was not a moment in the entire show where someone in the audience wasn’t laughing; the show was overflowing with comedy. Ranging from the absurd to the satirical, Operation Mincemeat manages to find comedy in a monumental historical event without undermining the gravity of the situation, creating a perfect blend of laughter and drama.

The musical numbers of this show add a layer of depth and commentary that resonates with modern audiences while still being highly entertaining.

The musical is not afraid to question the absurdities of war using satire and parody to highlight the ridiculousness of certain situations. One of my favourite moments was the song ‘Das Ubermensch,’ a song where the cast dress up as Nazis and sing lyrics such as “the less choice you have the more you feel free,” and “we are the future, society’s engineers, ridding Germany of vermin, we are pushing frontiers.” The musical numbers of this show add a layer of depth and commentary that resonates with modern audiences while still being highly entertaining. It kind of reminded me of ‘Horrible Histories,’ – utterly absurd but educating.

Together, all these elements create a musical that is not only entertaining but also thought-provoking, making Operation Mincemeat a standout success in contemporary theatre.

The show has received significant critical acclaim. In his five star review for The Stage, Tim Bano called it “a brilliant spy thriller, a brilliant comedy, and a brilliant musical all rolled into one, it is exhilarating to see it hit the West End.” The production has received over 67 five-star reviews, making it the best reviewed show in West End history.