Operation Mincemeat serves up a frantic feast of fun

REVIEW: 'Operation Mincemeat' at New Theatre, Cardiff

With multiple awards and glowing reviews, the phenomenon that is Operation Mincemeat arrived in Cardiff last night (Tuesday 15 September) to a rapturous reception from a packed house at the New Theatre.

If you've seen the film with Colin Firth, you'll know this unlikely (but true) story is serious stuff.

It's 1943, and the Allies need to invade Sicily to turn the tide of World War 2, but German troops heavily guard the island. A small team of MI5 agents (including James Bond creator Ian Fleming) comes up with a bizarre plan to fool Hitler. 

They use the illegally obtained body of a homeless man, dress him up as a British military officer, and put fake top-secret documents in his case. They float the body ashore in neutral Spain, hoping the Nazis will find the false documents and move 100,000 troops to the wrong location.

It doesn't sound like prime material for a musical comedy, but that was before the folk at Spit Lip got hold of it. From this unlikely source, David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson, and Zoe Roberts have produced something of a comedy masterpiece.

It has won Olivier and Tony Awards, and it's ranked the best-reviewed show in West End history, with no fewer than 113 five-star reviews!

And it's easy to see why. This is a frantic feast of fun, with jokes, dances, crazy characters, and some 20 songs, including a spectacular Glitzy Finale!

A madcap musical comedy about wartime espionage really shouldn't work, but it really does.

The story races on at breakneck speed, with brilliantly choreographed set pieces, and costume changes which are so fast they almost seem like magic tricks.

A hugely talented and versatile cast of five play all the roles - South Wales's Christian Andrews, Seán Carey, Charlotte Hanna-Williams, and Holly Sumpton are all alumni of the West End production, and they are joined by Jamie-Rose Monk. Katy Ellis, Georgina Hagen, Jordan Pearson, and Morgan Phillips complete the company.

Off-stage talent helping to create this sensational show include director Robert Hastie, choreographer Jenny Arnold, as well as Ben Stones (sets and costumes), Mark Henderson (lighting), and Mike Walker (sound).

For an evening of bonkers fun, this is hard to beat.

But, as I said, this is about serious stuff, and rightly there comes a time when the chaos stops for reflection. That's when Christian Andrews, as senior secretary Hester Leggatt, sings the deeply moving Dear Bill - in fact a tribute to her lost love Tom from the First World War.

The performance reduced the packed house to silence, and I'm sure I wasn't the only person who found something in their eye at that point.

It was also pleasing that there was a final, solemn tribute to the man who unwittingly became that British officer - the unfortunate Glyndwr Michael from Aberbargoed, who had lived rough on the streets of London and died after ingesting rat poison.

Ahead of last night's opening show in Cardiff, a memorial bench was unveiled in Alexandra Gardens to honour him and his role in this extraordinary story.

Operation Mincemeat is at the New Theatre until Saturday (19 September). Tickets are available from the box office on 0343 310 0041 or online here.

Review by Andy Weltch

Photos by Matt Crockett

We received free tickets for this performance in exchange for an honest review